It's Time to Revisit 'Keep Your Eyes Ahead,' a 2008 Gem From The Helio Sequence

An album that found the duo tightening up their sound

While digging through the archives and looking at what notable records are celebrating January anniversaries, it’s 2008 that stands out the most.

Fifteen years ago saw the release of stuff that wasn’t meant for me, like a pre-vinyl industry crashing Adele with 19 or some Sia album I only remember cos the cover features her drawing on her face like she’s off the deep end at a weekend ayahuasca retreat.

There’s also the self-titled debut for Vampire Weekend, which saw the Ivy Leagues crash the indie scene while rediscovering Paul Simon’s Graceland. As someone who loved this record and played it nonstop at the time, I revisited it for the first time in a while. The verdict? The front half still holds up, even if we’ve heard these songs a million times. I find “A-Punk” particularly grating, only because anyone who watched The Inbetweeners back in the day can tell you that the tune was used multiple times per episode, to the point where hearing it now makes me want to jump out a window. Hey, hey, hey, HEY!

Out of all of the albums from this winter season of yore, there’s one in particular that still sounds as fresh as the day it came out: Keep Your Eyes Ahead by The Helio Sequence. I’ve mentioned them a few times in the past as comparisons. Still, these Portland, Oregon, favorite sons always deserved more commercial success than they’ve achieved, and Keep Your Eyes Ahead is as close as they’ve come to breaking through by slicking up their sound while staying true to their sonic roots.