Shine Eye Landing by Billy Jeter is an anomaly of sorts. I’ll get it out of the way now and say it’s a delightful album filled with memorable melodies and hooks, and inspired gruff vocal performance from Jeter, whose songwriting is more on point than ever before. The anomaly aspect comes in that in many ways, it’s wildly contradictory to itself. Both sprawling and yet intimate and small in focus. Decidedly clear, but also very very obtuse and metaphorical. With only a simple strum, we’re thrust into the world of Jeter in his opener “Orion”.
It sounds like an old-time worker’s song. You know, the kind of quintessential country song that’s a foundational cornerstone of the genre. There are themes of hardship balanced with the desire to sing about what affects us, and that is a good way of describing the album. The titular Shine Eye Landing is more modest in its execution, sounding more Stevie Nicks or Tom Petty inspired. Honestly, the semblance Jeter has to late day Petty is eery, and while not as polished it has a rich texture that lends itself well to his work. “Take me back to the river, take me back to the long-ago”, Jeter sings at one point and it’s an example of his more clear and puncturing lyrical work when so much of the album is spent sifting through nostalgia. It’s the musical equivalent of flipping through an old photo album.”
Sins of Me” is another introspective look at Jeter as a person with the idea of what we do being permanently embedded onto our person. The back end of the album I would say is when the production amps up in a subtle way. There’s a stronger emphasis on reverb which adds to the echo-y memory quality. “Cut You Down” leans into that very well with its narrative about sacrifice and the inability to control what’s out of our hands. There’s a female vocal presence that’s also present on the album and it adds a great extra haunting feeling to the album, given so many exploits that Jeter sings about are romanticized whether through the lens of him thinking of a person or just life situations he’s endured. Even when dour, it’s still memorable and pivotal for Jeter that he went through that. “Highwater Blues” is the type of song that feels like it’s existed forever. It’s a little nonsensical, but it’s also about Jeter knowing he has to leave his old spot behind, and the kind of extraneous process of looking at where you’re at.
“Song for Walter” is probably the most minimalist song, with just guitar work softly creaking in. It really places an emphasis on Jeter’s vocals that really allow you to notice what a passionate performer he is. By the time we get to “The Apostle” with its creaky intro violin work, we feel like we’re right back where we started, in the body of a man, looking back on youth and wondering what life will give him. It’s one of the most memorable musical experiences of 2021.
Claire Uebelacker