Here I am, sitting at my desk, laptop open, writing another review while Mouse: P.I. For Hire runs on my Xbox and the psychedelic folk world of the Livingstone sisters, Daniella and Natasha, fills the room. Extraordinary yet surreal, they stay true to the roots of folk, prog, and pop, weaving soaring structures that keep you balanced on the edge of their magic carpet ride. Fire In Her Eyes’ debut album Look into the Sky is not just a first step, it’s a fully formed vision.
This isn’t your typical debut. It’s a trip down memory lane, a journey into mystical landscapes and crystallised textures, the kind of songs you imagine being sung around a campfire at the edge of the world. With Youth (Paul McCartney, The Verve, Killing Joke) shaping the production, Fire In Her Eyes deliver six striking centrepieces that feel both familiar and otherworldly.
Imagine the Livingstone sisters crafting lyrical textures that open parallel universes, honouring Rosalie Cunningham’s era with Purson while carving out their own path. The uplifting sitar raga royalty of ‘Never’ searches for the inner self, glowing with early Zeppelin, Jimmy Page like resonance.
The opening fanfare of ‘Juggling Clown’ hints at a prog extravaganza, but instead blooms into a Vince Guaraldi styled piano ballad that ascends with a gentle, skyward lift. ‘He Cries’ plunges you into a deep blue ocean of psych wah guitar and mellotron haze, reflecting the modern world and the quiet moments we navigate daily.
‘Passers By’ opens with a Nick Drake like shimmer straight out of the Bryter Layter era, guiding listeners away from the noise of reality and into a meditative folk waltz. Then, almost mischievously, the sisters pivot into an Italian prog texture reminiscent of Premiata Forneria Marconi’s Storia period, as if continuing the story ‘Impressioni Di Settembre’ began decades ago.
They return to the Purson lineage once more on ‘Hear the Nightingale Cry’, honouring melodic structures and vocal stylings that echo ‘In the Meantime’. It’s clear they’ve done their homework, absorbing the magic of the ’60s and ’70s, and the occult folk revival that bands like Purson and Blood Ceremony carried forward.
Even though there’s a bit of The Wicker Man in there. It’s more than just the 1973 horror cult classic. There’s even a sense of drifting through the Stargate, composing their own score for Dave Bowman’s final voyage in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a soaring, cinematic voyage into the unknown.
Look into the Sky is an album that rewards repeat listening. Its eerie, surreal beauty doesn’t reveal itself all at once, it unfolds slowly, inviting you back to discover new details, new textures, new emotional corners you missed the first time. The craftsmanship is undeniable, the vision fully realised, and the Livingstone sisters make it clear: this journey is only beginning, and it’s one you’ll want to revisit again and again.
