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Feb 10, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

Tomorrow, AJ Lambert is set to release her sophomore LP, Manhattan Beach, Swept By Ocean Breezes. The record comes fast on the heels of Bloodslide, the self-titled EP from Lambert’s band with Greg Ahee of Protomartyr and Mike Wallace of Preoccupations. In addition to her own songs, Lambert’s sophomore album is also a work of creative reimagining, featuring new interpretations of songs by Duke Ellington, Mr. Twin Sister, Gene Simmons, and more. Ahead of the album’s release, Lambert is also sharing a new cover of Alec Ounsworth’s (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) “When You’ve No Eyes,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“When You’ve No Eyes” first appeared on the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman’s 2009 solo album Mo Beauty, where it took the form of a gently unfurling textural odyssey. In comparison, Lambert’s version is vital and impassioned, with a driving rhythm section and earnest vocal performance. Ounsworth’s writing remains magnetic but is lent new urgency by Lambert’s standout performance, reframing the track as a colorful work of synth-laden, cinematic indie pop. Meanwhile, the accompanying video mirrors the track’s washed-out cinematic sheen, contrasted against bleak apocalyptic imagery.

Lambert says of the track, “I first heard this song in 2010, shortly after it came out. I had never heard Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, so Alec’s voice and writing was a surprise to me. I was taking a train from the bottom to the top of Australia as part of a trip I was on before I had to have brain surgery. I thought I may as well live a little in case I wasn’t around after that. This song played a lot over those 4 days.

The video has taken several forms in my head, but the one constant was that I knew I wanted to incorporate a vast landscape that felt like it might be the end, the end of life, end of the world…something like what I was feeling at the time I first heard this song. At one point I thought it would feature me trying to find the pink blob of bubbles that you see at times, but in the end, I decided it might be more fun to just watch it explore on its own, along with its little friends. The song seems quite prescient now, of course, in that it talks about how there’s disease and hatred always, but that there’s still the wine even if the toast spills.”

Check out the song and video below. AJ Lambert’s Manhattan Beach, Swept By Ocean Breezes is out Friday, February 11th. Coinciding with tomorrow’s release, Lambert is also performing both solo material and Bloodslide tracks with the band joining her at Los Angeles’ Zebulo

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