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Fuck this year. 2020 has proven to be the most disappointing year in many regards but, perhaps most importantly (at least within the goings on for this website), 2020 has gone down as the year which stalled the releases of an impressive number of albums, completely halted all touring routes through North America and diverted attention from most of the things people take pleasure in – and seen it be refocused it on despicable acts committed by despicable people. It’s a pretty disgusting state of affairs.

Perhaps worst of all, attention will have been diverted from the release of Round Eye’s great, breakthrough achievement: Culture Shock Treatment. Following a succession of releases which have each served as important developmental steps along the way, this album (their fourth release) arrives as more an indie punk or just punk document (less a freak punk album) produced by the great Mike Watt and released on Paper + Plastick Records (owned and operated by Less Than Jake’s Vinnie Fiorello). In effect, Culture Shock Treatment arrives with the endorsements of several punk rock luminaries attached – at the one moment in modern history when it will be really hard to get audiences to notice.

Punks do need to listen up and pay attention though – because this album is that good.

Whether or not it was the addition of Mike Watt as producer isn’t completely clear, but the difference in Round Eye’s performance on Culture Shock Treatment is evident as soon as the title track explodes to open the album. There, the guitars supplied by James Hogan and the nasal bass tone of Livio Ercoli come right out of Mike Watt’s wheelhouse but fit the tone and tempo of the song in a very ideal way; the manic vibe exuded by the instruments compliments the vocal styling of singer Chachy Englund’s rant (“I don’t give a fuck about homeostasis – oh no”) perfectly.

That’s the other thing: right from note one, Chachy’s vocals are far less repetitive than they’ve been on the band’s previous releases. Again – they’re geared more to punk rock commentary here than they are to freak punk’s abstract mania (or – let’s be honest – to just something that can fill space in a mix), and that change is absolutely thrilling. The clarity and obvious improvements to songwriting gets even clearer when “Culture Shock Therapy” gives way to “Smokestack” and Chachy abandons his melodic, nasal vocal tone in favor of confrontational commentary which takes up the entire space between the left and right channels. The addition of the horns provided by Mac Wooley as well as that fantastic, nasal bass tone adds further depth to the song.

As the album progresses, it can’t be ignored that Round Eye does take some time to try out some different ideas with fascinating results. The layers of harmonized vocals which suddenly appear in “Magaman” almost sound like Sha Na Na on speed, while while the lilting sway of “Red Crimes” marks a completely different tone and tempo for the band. On top of that, “Years” sees Round Eye completely abandon the compositional structure so regularly employed by the band as they take up a tone and form reminiscent of Black Flag while “Catatonic” actually apes a really good impression of The Ramones and “Uomo Moderno” mocks up a form closer to The Minutemen in execution but a little surfy and post-modern too. Those turns each illustrate that Round Eye is capable of much, much more than listeners could possibly have realized before, and really leaves bait behind for listeners to be excited for more, after this album’s runtime runs out.

Needless to say Culture Shock Treatment leaves Round Eye in a really, really good place insofar as having a lot of space to stretch and develop on future releases. Some critics could retort that, “Of course they do – every band does” – but it’s different, in this case; on this album, Round Eye illustrate that they are capable of far more than any of even the band’s greatest fans could have imagined. It’s remarkable; it remains true that 2020 will indeed go down in history as one of the worst years in modern history, but Culture Shock Treatment will clearly stand out as a great warm spot in the sun, hereafter. [Bill Adams]

Round Eye, a band from Shanghai, plays some of the most insane experiment sax-laden punk music ever. That in mind, it was a surprise to me they weren’t ever black bagged or something. Truth be told, if they had an obscene political agenda, they’d probably be shut down in a similar manner to Russia’s Pussy Riot. That is to say, Round Eye is absolutely nuts. They pack each song with wicked saxophone lines, spine chilling vocals, maddening guitar riffs, haunting bass lines, and menacing drums. And the unsurprising catch to it all –For a period of time Round Eye was banned from playing live shows –of course China’s Ministry of Culture blamed it all on “crowd control issues.” There really is no proper way to introduce Round Eye than letting their own reputation and history speak for itself. The band is truly something else. This review isn’t about Round Eye’s reputation though –it’s about their debut, self-titled album. Soon it will become clear, Round Eye’s Round Eye delivers.

Horns, guitars, drums, free-jazz or rock, maybe punk –Round Eye is a bedlam of instruments and style. The album is like putting some ice, a few strawberries, a little bit of cream, and a goldfish in a blender, leaving the top off, and pressing the button associated with unleashing the most hell. The energy of the music is vigorous and relentless. There is not a boring moment in Round Eye’s debut.

Read the rest of the review here

Rating: 10.0/10

Round Eye, the experimental freak punk outfit have accrued quite a loud and controversial name for themselves since forming in 2012. The Shanghai based group have shown no mercy nor fatigue in sound development or work ethic and have as of late been a crucial force in bridging a wide gap between the eastern and western hemispheres of punk rock.

Along with blazing a gnarly trail all over the globe (USA, Mexico, S. Korea, Japan) they’ve toured the mainland of China a number of times and have played host to visiting western groups and some legends as well.
Now, they have signed to Canadian label Sudden Death Records.

Wow. A band grabbing listeners and shaking them by the head just to see the confused look on their faces isn’t a particularly common occurrence anymore (the Mothers Of Invention used to do it, Butthole Surfers were really good at it, Flaming Lips have had some great moments in the mindfuck field too), but no one in the world could hear Round Eye‘s self-titled album without recoiling back in reflex, like someone just shouted in their ear. It’s chaotic, it’s loud and it’s weird; it’s unruly and it sounds nothing like anything you’ve heard before, reader – I promise.

Read the full review here

Truly bizarre piece of music here from Shanghai’s Round Eye, who mash all sorts of styles together and delight at its awkwardness. I suppose the closest genre I could sneak them into is “punk”, but they forego punk rock’s aesthetic for large stretches of their self-titled debut. Instead, you might get a backwards-panned kraut-esque freakout, some carnival jazz not unlike Barnacled (or even Gogol Bordello), heavy streaks of noise-rock ala Melvins or some sort of made-up improvisation that recalls an amateur Magma. It’s as confusing to me while I explain it as it is you reading my explanation, trust me. Multiple tracks have sequels (see “Street Light A” and “Street Light B”, or “HeSheRoshima” A through C), but then there’s also a song squeezed in here titled, and I quote, “You Can Tell That She’s A Dud Lay By The Fact She Has A Photo Of Her Nephew As The Background On Her Phone.”. Sheesh. They’ll end a Can-esque smoke session with a throbbing trombone and think nothing of it, almost daring you to keep listening. Were there any funky breaks or harsh noise bursts, I’d liken Round Eye to The Boredoms, but those are two of the few sounds they aren’t working with. I can’t tell if Round Eye are authentically freaks, or if they just tried so hard to be freaky that the accidentally became true freaks, but regardless of their journey, they’ve arrived at their destination.

A lot of bands think that they're wild dudes because they have a song or two about hating cops. Well, if the members of Round Eye say the wrong thing, they might get carried away in the night and be never heard from again.

A group composed of five white dudes living in the orient, Round Eye combine the explosively zaniness of early rock and roll with the danger and nastiness of early 80s punk. Still in their first year, the band have toured all over mainland China, bringing a bit of the west to other expats as well as showing a new culture to young Chinese people

Read the rest here

Round Eye, the experimental freak punk outfit have accrued quite a loud and controversial name for themselves since forming in 2012. The Shanghai based group have shown no mercy nor fatigue in sound development or work ethic and have as of late been a crucial force in bridging a wide gap between the eastern and western hemispheres of punk rock. Along with blazing a gnarly trail all over the globe (USA, Mexico, S. Korea, Japan) they’ve toured the mainland of China a number of times and have played host to visiting western groups and some legends as well.

They’ve shared stages with western groups such as D.O.A., The FUs, Paul Collins Beat, M.O.T.O., Ceremony, and Iceage, eastern groups such as P.K.14,SMZB and Misandao and have been banned from performing on the mainland by the Ministry of Culture during a tour with UK punk legends The Boys (as a result the tour was forced to literally go underground where they held the secret gigs in bomb shelters around the country). The ban lasted only the duration of the tour and was assigned due to “crowd control issues” following the tragic Shanghai band stampede, a controversial tour poster, and reports of Round Eye’s lewd stage antics.

They’ve won the “Best Local Band” title from Shanghai’s City Weekend magazine two years in a row. They’ve released two music videos (one starring famed Chinese actress Wang Lin) and honed their unconventional blend of 50s R&B and Punk with a critically acclaimed EP “Full Circle” on Ripping/Genjing Records which featured Greg Ginn (Black Flag) and have drawn comparisons to the Stooges, Dr. Feelgood and The Fall. Currently, they are set to drop their eponymous LP Round Eye which features saxophonist Steve Mackay (Stooges/Violent Femmes) andR. Stevie Moore in June with a tour of the US with Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes set to begin in July to promote it.

The go to place for live reviews in the expat crowd performed a Q&A with RoundEye see what they had to say here

If there’s a lasting legacy of punk rock music, it surely has to be how the music and philosophy has influenced millions of people around the world to think for themselves. Many have gone onto form bands and try to become the influencers themselves.

This morning, the good folks at Punkonline Towers received a link to the debut L.P. from self described “freak punk” band, Round Eye who hail from Shanghai.

The band have toured all over the world including mainland China on a number of occasions and have been banned by the Ministry of Culture whilst on one tour with British band, The Boys (apparently some “stage antics” coupled with an offensive tour poster and ‘crowd control issues” offended the powers that be).

On their eponymously named first album we are treated to an opening chunky guitar riff that is interrupted by some free flowing saxophone that introduces us immediately to something different. Track 2 of the 17 on the album is the excellent ‘Street Light A’ which again adds saxophone to a more traditional punk riff and beat…I am reminded of the Cravats meets Captain Beefheart before the vocals come in…there is certainly a feeling of chaos and you can appreciate why they have won the “Best local band” title from Shanghai’s City Weekend magazine two years in a row.

Read the rest of the review here