Glass Eye World

Album Review

Undoubtedly many an Australian rock fan first discovered the wondrous Stooges via Radio Birdman — since the group was never ashamed to voice approval verbally or sonically about Iggy and company. Since Radio Birdman's split in the late '70s, guitarist Deniz Tek has continued cranking out high-energy garage punk — as both a member of other bands and as a solo act. Although Tek's solo career was sporadic at best for an extended period, the late '90s and early 21st century saw him begin making up for lost time, as he formed a new outfit, Deniz Tek & the Golden Breed, which saw Tek joined by '80s-era skateboarders Art and Steve Godoy. In 2003, the trio issued its first album, Glass Eye World — which, as a nod to the Godoy brothers, contained skateboard imagery on the cover. Expectedly, such tunes as "Always Out of Reach" and "Flight 19" were comparable to previous Tek-related releases — tough garage rock exuberantly bashed out. One of Tek's better latter-day releases, it just may have been the deciding factor for the guitarist to ring up his old Birdman mates once more (they reunited shortly after the release of Glass Eye World).