Cellophane Eyes turn improvisation into a more deliberate, image-rich statement

Tacoma band’s latest 2025 seven-song release, The Doors, runs about 27 minutes and opens the doorway to the strange.

Tacoma’s Cellophane Eyes open the doorway to the strange on their latest 2025 seven-song release, The Door. The 27-minute album expands on the band's whimsical mythology as a group of neurodivergent interdimensional travelers from a fictional '80s dark fantasy cartoon, journeying through mysterious portals in search of kindred spirits and the elusive Starchild. A symbol of wonder, healing, and the inner child. That sense of escapism and surreal adventure permeates every track, with each song feeling like a stop in a new dimension.

I’m struck by how The Door feels like a carefully staged drift through Cellophane Eyes’ internal weather. Music built from improvisational jam sessions, with very few words, while highlighting bass guitar, vocal effects, trumpet loops, and other stray instrumentation. Art pop, experimental, mixed-genre, avant-garde, and psychedelic! With inspirations that stretch from The Neverending Story to retro video games, the record reads like a collage of memory, and half-remembered fantasy.

Cellophane Eyes keep circling motifs until they become hypnotic, then step sideways before the spell breaks. Titles like “Process,” “Space Planet,” “Rainbow,” “Ectoplasm,” “Starchild,” and “Ollalie (Frog Butt)” hint at a band that understands atmosphere and structure. I hear a group growing more confident in restraint, letting surreal imagery and instrumental color do the storytelling. It’s a playful record and that balance gives The Door its replay value.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Cellophane Eyes on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist