Alias was the only member on the now cardinal Deep Puddle Dynamics album to both rap and produce; on his So Called Artists collaboration, Alias held his own both on the microphone with Sole as well as on production with DJ Mayonnaise. His first solo effort, The Other Side of the Looking Glass, was avowed the inaugural "Goth-Hop" album and wowed even the most esoteric music fans such as Bjork.

Word surfaced that Alias didn't want to entrust his abilities to the rap world at the moment. Instead, new keyboards and guitars in hand, Alias decided to try his hand at electronica based compositions. While working out his new method, Alias had a flash of eminence while helping generate Sole's Selling Live Water album, furnishing the fleshy end of the backdrops on what has now become perhaps the best modern hip-hop album.

Eyes Closed is Alias' preface into the instrumental world he flirted with on his Bits and Pieces experiment. The EP is set to act as the red carpet to his up and coming Muted, an instrumental full-length set to come out prior to the end of 2003. Eyes Closed sounds like his undertaking on Selling Live Water minus all that was hip-hop. With this EP, Alias has formally matured into a electronic musician.

The title track flaunts vocal samples of reporters telling the public all the things they don't want to know about warfare, set to programmed bass lines mixed with indirect drum chops and a barrage of synth and sample work. "What Used to Be" hints again at the political motif, this time with less attention on the vocal samples, more drums, and a building ambiance. Maintaining this theme, "Must Consume" jokes about how our country tries to save its economy by buying Christmas presents. The song doesn't go anywhere until the cadence change at the 2:44 mark, where the track finally becomes engaging. "December 26th, 2002" is a very atmospheric song that relies too much on synthesizers and snares; not until the real drums hit does the song go anywhere. The final track acts as a outro to the EP and a pallet cleanser for Muted.

Overall, Eyes Closed is both a miscarriage and a achievement for Alias. He's doing what he wants and doing it well. It's just that, well, everything else he's done is eons better. Good luck with Muted.

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