The latest single from Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps is “With Eyes Closed. “A romantic, mid-tempo love song that features clever instrumentation and a polarizing melody creating the perfect atmosphere for Tom Tikka to weave a tapestry of metaphor to express his devotion to the subject. From his full-length release, This Is My Happy Face, “With Eyes Closed” is a contrast to the typically zany antics of Tom Tikka. An artist who can create a musical landscape of simple concepts, Tom Tikka gets serious and opens his heart up to his devoted. Of course, this is still Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps, we have still bestowed the intricate lyrical structures which offer a bit of a double-entendre. The clever storytelling and narrative “With Eyes Closed” presents allow the listener to empathize with our singer and relate this to our own lives; “You are good for self-esteem, maybe, you make me glad, you make me real, baby.” Musically, “With Eyes Closed” has a staccato string section bouncing the main melody up and down giving this track its main rhythm. With the absence of percussion of any sort the full strings and the bass groove make up for this and, yes this track still has a funk to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbM9sCrgtcY
The production on “With Eyes Closed” is complete, the fullness of sound completely encapsulates the listening space while the vocals ring out true and clear throughout. As a contrast to previous singles on This Is My Happy Face, this track offers a glimpse into the full musical talent of our main performer. “With Eyes Closed” is a gorgeous track, a lovely addition to any love song playlist, and may I dare say it is a great wedding song? I believe Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps can see commercial success with this track on Pop, Adult Contemporary, or Soft-Rock radio playlists. The wonderful vocal performance coupled with the infectious chorus and soothing melodies makes this a highly enjoyable track that entertains completely. The highly replayable nature of this track is bound to get Tom Tikka and the Missing Hubcaps much industry attention and consideration. Personally, as a huge fan of the entire This Is My Happy Face album, I am delighted Tom Tikka chose “With Eyes Closed” as the next single.
–Lee Callaghan
