Trophy EyesThe American Dream

To say Trophy Eyes turned heads with Chemical Miracle would be one hell of an understatement. Their 2016 opus downright stunned Australia’s rock scene, driving coarse, hardcore-influenced soundscapes with bright and boisterous melodies that got stuck in our heads like toffee in teeth.

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The band were catapulted from dive bars to theatres, and if we may say so ourselves, they deserved every ounce of the success that Chemical Miracle had doled them. It was an instant classic—the kind of scene-defining masterpiece that bands almost always fumble on their follow-ups to. But with The American Dream, our Novocastrian post-hardcore pals have not only matched the ambitious grandiosity of their second effort—in parts, they’ve entirely usurped it.

Thematically intense and musically monumental, The American Dream is another jaw-dropping work of art from one of the most exciting bands Australia has to offer.

There’s an ample dash of chunk slicked over the guitars, but where former efforts have seen Trophy Eyes get downright callous with their axes, The American Dream instead revels in clean shredding that accents frontman John Floreani’s glittering harmonies. Rich production and full-band backing vocals make LP3 an operatic masterpiece, lashings of warm strings and layered percussion proving that Trophy Eyes have far outgrown their punkish roots—and much for the better.

Floreani’s vocal talents are especially worth pointing out, too. Where they pop up, his screams are as gruff as they’ve ever been, though Floreani often opts for a more angelic, lullabyesque hum that juts against his searing lyricisms with a polarising edge (take for example the instantly memorable coke nod in You Can Count On Me). And his time spent as an expat in Texas has paid off in spades, softer moments on the record draped with a whiskey-stained southern twange—best employed on the Gang Of Youths-channelling I Can Feel It Calling, which spends its six-minute duration cantering into what is easily the most eruptive crescendo a Hopeless band has ever slapped their name on.

Thematically intense and musically monumental, The American Dream is another jaw-dropping work of art from one of the most exciting bands Australia has to offer.

STANDOUT TRACKS: You Can Count On Me, Lavender Bay, I Can Feel It Calling
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Hellions, Gang Of Youths, You Me At Six

Trophy Eyes are also touring across Australia this October. Catch them at the following dates:

Thursday 11 October // The Tivoli // Brisbane
Friday 12 October // The Enmore // Sydney
Saturday 13 October // FKA Music Festival // Hope Estate, Hunter Valley
Thursday 18 October // The Gov // Adelaide
Saturday 20 October // The Forum // Melbourne

Tickets available here.