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Mar 23, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Harper King

Portland rock outfit Forty Feet Tall first began as the project of high school bandmates Cole Gann (lead singer/guitar) and Jack Sehres (guitar). The pair continued to perform together after they went off to college, recording a self-titled debut album in 2014 and following with their Red Dressed EP in 2016. In subsequent years, the band has expanded into a quartet with the addition of bassist Brett Marquette and drummer Ian Kelley. The band’s revamped line-up debuted with their 2021 record, A Good Distraction, followed last year by the chaotic aesthetics of their latest EP, BOIL.

This week, the band are back with their latest EP, Tunnel Vision, and ahead of the EP’s release, the band have shared an early listen to the record, premiering with Under the Radar.

With Tunnel Vision, the band takes on a more layered sheen than their last EP, BOIL, all while offering plenty of sharp hooks and grooves along the way. Opener “Look Both Ways” immediately hits hard with a series of pounding guitar riffs and insistently catchy melodies, while “Cherry Blossoms” shifts from a sparse and haunting opening into a grungy and raucous back half. In contrast, “Sleepwalking” and “We Can’t Go Back to Normal” are more tense and angular, with the former leaning into tightly wound post punk grooves and the latter delivering some ranting punk vocals. Finally, the record closes out with “Tunnel Vision,” its most exploratory and ambitious effort. The band crafts an expansive multi-section structure, moving effortlessly between tight and danceable guitar lines and airy six-part harmonies.

The band says of the EP, “We recorded this along with the BOIL EP at Trash Treasury in Portland. Cam Spies, recording wizard, convinced us to do it to tape which was terrifying at first, but ended up being an amazing experience. You just have to nail the take and say it’s good enough. It makes everything feel more alive and real. We also always track as a live band in a room together and do a few overdubs later. It feels more energetic and hopefully translates well to what our live sound can be. Both EPs integrate a cohesive body of work, but we decided to split it to prolong our momentum and keep releasing music consistently.

The BOIL EP hits fast and hard with post-punk energy, but the Tunnel Vision EP is where we get more experimental. We break more traditional song formats, add ethereal breakdowns with 6 part harmonies, and sections that are stripped down to just guitar and vocals. We’re excited to see what people think of all the new weird stuff we attempted on the Tunnel Vision EP. So many of us can have blinders on to the important issues that we have to face right now. We get so distracted by all sorts of bullshit these days (including us) and the lyrics to these songs are a reminder to look at what’s important in our lives, for humanity, and for the planet as a whole. Plus we love making music together and we want people to fucking blast it in their cars when they’re driving over the speed limit.”

Check out the full EP below, out everywhere tomorrow, March 24th.