rock/pop

"We had no concept of what Philly was like. We hadn't heard of the Lilys or Aspera," says guitarist Rick Flom of National Eye, whose Colorado indie rock band moved to the 215 five years ago. "We certainly didn't move here because we thought it was a great music town." Ouch. So what did bring them 1,700 miles east? Turns out keyboard player Will Baggot grew up in Yeadon and his family's house was big enough for all five bandmates to temporarily crash, set up a studio and rehearse while they found their footing.

Before you dismiss National Eye as a pack of oblivious freeloaders, give a listen to their brand new second CD, Roomful of Lions. It's being released by Park The Van records, a more recent Philly transplant. In 15 cuts and 52 minutes, the record does the foggy psych-rock thing well, but the quintet gives its audience a bit more credit than most contemporary revivalist bands. Instead of riffing on touchstones like Syd Barrett or Spacemen 3, National Eye paces itself, carefully exploring the vast umbrella of a well-worn style while maintaining a genuine voice at the center.

A dense trot of clip-clop beats is layered on the opening "Ag1," then the haze is immediately swapped for sharp mod hooks on "Juno 3." Crisp acoustic fingerpicking mixes with theremin in the acid-folk of "Halo." Meanwhile, "Abwher" conjures the shoegazer anthems of those aforementioned Lilys.

Flom says he feels a kinship with the other Philly groups on Park The Van, like Dr. Dog or The Teeth. "It's hard to make music when you're not making money and nobody cares," he says. "The great thing about being here is meeting and playing with all these amazing bands that really do care." It might've been a blind move, but it looks like National Eye has found a home in Philadelphia.