BY LANA HARRIS
The eyes. The single guaranteed giveaway, the aloof-proof window into the enclave of romantic desire.
You walk into the party. Lights flashing, bass bumping, bodies bouncing. You scan the area, spotting a couple of friends; you exchange inaudible hellos, you hug/dap/noogie, you move along. You walk towards the bar, in pursuit of herb-infused moscato when suddenly – you feel the eyes. Leaning against a vintage-bricked pillar, nonchalantly crossed legs, toying with a rolled cigarette behind his hoop-adorned ear, curving lips, and of course…
The eyes. Enticing, deceitfully teasing, inextricably toying. At their maximal puissance, they can conjure life’s devotion… but they need not wield such a domineeringly omnipotent power. Rather, they are a force to be reckoned with, a volley that’s spiked back – they incite a rally, but they needn’t compel defeat.
Luke Martinez knows the eyes well. He is not a checkbox romantic, but a Meyers Briggs’ Feeler grounded in Ivy League reason. His single ‘Touch’ speaks to this interior battle between total capitulation to id-driven passion and Elite-Four-level coolocity. Reverbed earnestness reveals snippets of surrender, while gospel-style backups and driving cowbells encourage hip-swinging confidence. Thought-dominated desire is shrouded within glamorous gem-tones and glimmering synths, a pop-driven audiovisual depiction of the infamous game encompassing a mastery of meticulously calculated response times and suspiciously cuddly late-night bootycalls.
Check out Luke Martinez’s new release “Touch,” and stay tuned for a slew of forthcoming releases from your new favorite Harvardian popstar.
