Early December, Uk-based trio Render Ghosts (comprising singer-songwriter Tamara van Esch, composer Tom O.C Wilson, and sound artist Iain Chambers) released their debut single “Eye Rhyme,” and it’s pretty genius. But before I get into why I say that, it’s important to discuss the “clothing” of the song — the instrumentals.
Render Ghosts took a more synth-pop approach with this single and, if they’re going for that ’80s pop rock sound, then they’ve hit the nail on the head — you definitely get strong A-Ha vibes. We’ve seen more of today’s artists like The Weekend go for the same approach in many of their songs (I’ve talked about this in another review), which has worked even when some aren’t synth-pop focused. But it’s surprising and impressive how ’80s authentic this trio’s single sounds.
And now what makes the song genius.
The song is called “Eye Rhyme” and for those who don’t know what that means, an eye rhyme is when two words that appear the same aren’t pronounced the same. For example, cough and dough. The track is about two people realizing they just aren’t meant for each other, which a lot of people can relate to.
But when the singer sings “maybe we just eye rhyme, a visible thrill but not a lifeline,” you already get a sense of how the term eye rhyme connects with the meaning. Basically, from what I’ve gathered, the two may be visibly into and perfect for each other but aren’t “sonically” right for each other. In other words, they want and do different things that are tuned to each other.
Again, this song is genius and, for a group that’s just starting out, “Eye Rhyme” has great quality. Hats off to Render Ghosts!
Written by Taylor Berry
