Join Mind’s Eye for Long Nights and Wasted Affairs

By Phil Hawkins

Whether you grew up in the 80s or are a fan of classic 80s cinema then you are most likely familiar with the name John Hughes. Hughes and his “Brat Pack” films defined a culture and a generation and are deemed as classic cinematic examples of a collective “Right of Passage.” There is something about each of them that feels almost transcendent.

Long Nights and Wasted Affairs, the latest release from LA based Mind’s Eye feels like what a John Hughes film would sound like if it were an album and not a film. From reading that statement one might draw the conclusion that this is another band reminiscing in the sounds of the 80s. However, that is not the case with Mind’s Eye. While there may be hints of 80s throwbacks they are minimal and the music takes on a life of it’s own and feels like a classic Hughes cinematic right of passage.

Long Nights and Wasted Affairs kicks off with “love & prom & shit” which is more of an intro than an actual song. It sets a tone that is very much aligned with the Hughes comparison and only goes up from there. “running to find you” follows and leans in to more of a shoegaze/dreampop aesthetic laced with a slight post punk bass riff. “can’t help myself” follows keeping a very similar dynamic while keeping things more on the upbeat side that creates a sense of fun. “tunnel of love” rounds out the first third of the album and while it is another solid track, for me, it felt like a bit of a low point as the backbeat was almost too similar to “Shy Away” by Twenty One Pilots. It’s not a bad comparison to have, but it could easily be considered distracting to some.

“clevergirl” ushers in the middle section of the album and is a bit slower in nature, but leans more on the melancholic side of things with the delivery. Musically, it is rather simplistic in structure, but it has a solid hook that is one of the highlights of the album as a whole. “don’t tell me” keeps things on the dreamier side aesthetically speaking as it lingers in a more mellow delivery all around. “lies” picks the tempo back up a bit injecting some more fun in to the overall musical dynamic of the album that creates a rather well rounded musical soundscape. “long nights” closes out the middle of the album with some remarkable bass work and sets a solid transition into the final act of the album as a whole.

“wasted affairs” opens the final act and has garnered a remarkable 18 million streams on Spotify since it was released as a single just over 2 years ago. It’s another fun and upbeat track that obviously has legs and will hopefully bring in listeners looking for more of the same type of stylistic fun. “astrology girl” is a mid tempo track that is lyrically quirky at parts with lines like; “Did you like Gremlins 2 more than Gremlins 1?” “trouble” and “new fixations” finish out the album with a slight bit of contrast as “trouble” stays in the more upbeat side compared to “new fixations” solidly gravitating in more of the mid tempo melancholic aesthetic that has been intermittently laced through the album.

Overall, Long Nights and Wasted Affairs is the type of album that is meant for long late night drives or just laying under the stars discussing all sorts of topics and manners of life (much like a John Hughes film). If you listen deep you will find lyrical themes that would also be commonplace within the John Hughes cinematic universe that gives the album as a whole multiple layers to analyze.

Long Nights and Wasted Affairs is available now on all major streaming and digital platforms.