Providence, Rhode Island's The Brother Kite began crafting their shoegaze-inflected rock sound in 2001, when founding members Patrick Boutwell and Jon Downs began writing and recording original material as a duo. Bassist Andrea Mason and guitarist Mark Howard joined them in 2002, and the band released a split 7" record with friends Vaguely Starshaped on Boston's Losing Blueprint Records in 2003. The Brother Kite then released their first full length album on Clairecords, thebrotherkite (2004), a self-titled and self-recorded serving of layered guitars and buoyant melodies. Their ambitious debut earned them nationwide attention from critics and music fans alike. They soon enlisted Matt Rozzero as full-time drummer, and relentlessly toured the east coast, gaining new fans at every show and further refining their unique sound. The band then constructed their Beaten Path studio in Mason, New Hampshire and recorded their second LP for Clairecords, Waiting For The Time To Be Right (2006). With Waiting..., the band dialed back the "shoegaze" element of their first album, and explored Brian Wilson-esque harmonies and refined classic pop structures. The album greatly widened their fan base, garnered a bevy of critical acclaim, and was considered by many to be one of the finest records that year. This was followed by two more releases for Clairecords, 2007's Moonlit Race EP and 2008's spit 7" with Boston band Plumerai.In 2010, The Brother Kite released their highly anticipated third full-length LP, Isolation. The album, mixed by Thom Monahan (Pernice Bros, The Broken West, Matt Pond PA, J. Mascis and The Fog), made it very clear that they are not a band that rests on their laurels. Where Waiting For The Time To Be Right was built on thick layers of Wurlitzer organ and droning guitars, Isolation stripped The Brother Kite's sound down into individual elements, allowing each reverberated guitar pluck, tambourine clash and warbling synth line to stand on its own.Even though Isolation contained nearly an hour of new material, it was not the entirety of their efforts. The Eye To Eye EP collects the new songs that, for a variety of reasons, don't appear on Isolation. The title track, left off the album mostly because of its optimistic lyrical perspective, is a classic Boutwell/Downs collaboration; a high-energy burst of power pop perfection. "Hold It Up" is an intimate acoustic-based track, and "Spinning Wheels" is a Space Echo and reverb laden droner that indulges a bit in the "shoegaze" sound that described the bands earlier recordings. Closing the EP is "Buddy System", which was one of the first songs recorded for Isolation (left off the album simply because the band had yet to complete vocal overdubs when they traveled to CA to mix with Thom Monahan). To call the Eye To Eye EP an assortment of b-sides or outtakes would be a misnomer. More accurately, it's a brief collection of top-shelf new songs that fans of The Brother Kite will undoubtedly enjoy.