Limited Sight Distance EP by Stefanie Fix (Review)
Whatever else you might think of Limited Sight Distance, you can’t say they don’t have an impressive lineup. Apparently another one of those “revolving door” membership type of bands, Limited Sight Distance’s only fixed faces are multi-instrumentalists Stefanie Fix and Kevin McMahon with contributions from the likes of John Parker (Varnaline), Jason and Justin Russo (Hopewell, Mercury Rev), and Adam Snyder (Mercury Rev).
The album opens with all manners of clinking and clanking, before a choppy rhythm guitar cuts in with a heavy beat and other assorted percussion. Within the first 30 seconds, it’s immediately apparent that Limited Sight Distance enjoys an interesting sound palette. While those opening noises hints at something rather avant-garde and lo-fi, the choppy guitar rhythms are straight up power pop, and let’s not forget the myriad noises that bubble along under the surface.
However random and offbeat the sounds may get, they’re all obviously in submission to Fix’s vocals. Throughout most of the album, she opts for a rather straightforward, if not dramatic vocal style. And to be honest, it feels distinctly at odds with much of the music on here. Fix has a powerful voice to be sure. However, the style she adopts for much of this release feels better suited to music that’s more straightforward than the EP’s sometimes confusing array of sounds.
The impression I leave with is that Limited Sight Distance is still trying to find their sound. There’s too much of a “Hey, that sounds cool, let’s use it on the album” sort of mentality, a sort of reckless fascination with throwing a lot of different sounds together. Not too surprisingly, it gives the EP a rather unfocused sound. However, there is one caveat to that, something that not only prevents me from just writing off the EP but also makes me keenly interested in where Limited Sight Distance goes from here.
“Cynical Eyes” is the one true showcase for Limited Sight Distance here, an eerie piece that finds Fix’s vocals taking a more understated tone amidst swirling drones, AM radio transmissions, and a rustic guitar that sounds like it was lifted from a Molasses album. It’s an amazing song that sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the album, and not just, I think, because it’s the most abstract.
I’d hate for any band to try and milk one song and never deviate from its style and sound. However, whatever concepts Limited Sight Distance had for “Cynical Eyes,” well they need to elaborate on them. I don’t want to write off the rest of their efforts as trivial, but compared to “Cynical Eyes,” the rest of the album definitely takes a backseat.