Eyeliner

"Eyeliner" is a song by Australian singer/songwriter Jason, released on May 13th 2014 as the first official single from his third studio album A Dangerous Game. The single was premiered on Jason's official website and VEVO channel on May 7th 2014 with no prior announcement. The synthpop track was produced by Xenomania, who have produced the entirety of Jason's new album.

Background
Soon after the release of his sophomore album Trouble, Jason quickly began working on his follow-up record. Fusion Records booked him sessions with Xenomania in Kent, London with the intention of creating some "radio un-friendly" tracks. Eventually, it was decided that Xenomania would produce the entire album. "Eyeliner" was one of the first tracks to be recorded and was, according to Jason, "an obvious choice" for a single release, saying: "When we first started working on the song, we quickly realized that it's one of those songs you need to keep playing. Over and over. It was different, it was modern. It's exactly the kind of thing my fans love from me. And once we had the final track polished, before we even began working on other tracks, I said 'This is going to be the first single' and nobody disagreed with me. I was itching to perform it on my Trouble Tour in December 2013, but the label told me to hold back and not to spoil it for everyone!" The track premiered on May 7th 2014 with no prior announcement. Speaking about this, Jason said he "wanted to pull a Beyoncé" to an extent and surprise everyone. The single was released in the United States the following Tuesday.

Composition
"Eyeliner" is a synthpop track with elements of indie music and dance-pop. Clocking in at 5 minutes and 34 seconds long, the track slowly builds and builds until the final chorus, where it is described as "an explosion of every synth possible". Various vocoders are used on Jason's voice throughout and the track is also noted for it's repetitive lyrics. "It only took about half an hour to write" says Brian Higgins of Xenomania, "most of the work was involved in the production".

Critical Reception
Upon it's premiere, "Eyeliner" received mixed to positive reviews. Fan reaction towards the song was overwhelmingly positive. BBC Radio 2 gave the song a positive review after playing it for the first time by saying: "It's not everyday you hear a song like that, is it? It's exactly why I love pop music!" Digital Spy also gave the track an in-depth review in which they described it as "mesmerizing". They further added that "the repetition, the build-up, the production - it's one of the most genius pop songs released these past few years". The track also received a positive review from Popjustice after it was rewarded the position of "Big Song of the Day". MTV gave the song a mixed review, saying that while it was "catchy and modern", it "lacked a punch and, because of this, probably won't be a hit. It just falls flat. You keep wondering; was that it?"

Music Video
The music video for "Eyeliner" was shot in Los Angeles only a few days before the official track premiered. The video was directed by Sophie Muller and premiered on May 9th 2014. The video begins with Jason and his boyfriend in an expensive penthouse, wearing high-fashion clothing. The couple are on a couch, with a baby girl in Jason's arms. They appear to be giving a television interview. During the interview, Jason constantly touches his boyfriends arm lovingly and tries to make eye contact with him, but never receives any affection in return. This is noticed by the interviewer who makes note of it. The next scene shows the pair arguing at night time, Jason with a glass of red wine in his hands. The argument is quite aggressive. The couple are at either ends of the frame with a flat-screen television in the middle. On it is a news report from E! Entertainment which reads: "Trouble in paradise for Jason and Spencer?". Jason throws his wine as Spencer who runs up to him and pins him against the wall, choking him. The camera slowly moves away from them, out into the hall and into a dimly lit bedroom where the baby girl is seen in a cot crying, but no one comes to her attention. Jason leaves the penthouse (it is dark outside) and is putting a suitcase in his car when Spencer tries to stop him. Jason shoves him off, quickly gets in the car and drives. Spencer jumps in front of the car and Jason runs him over by accident. He suddenly stops the car, realizing what he has one and covers his open mouth with his hand. The next scene we are shown sees Jason by a lake. Presumably it is the same night. He looks at his car and takes a deep breath before he slowly pushes it in. In the distance, police sirens can be seen and are even heard through the song. Jason begins to run and it starts to rain heavily. He is next seen in a large maize field, performing the song in an epic wind and rain scene. He continues to run away after a while. The camera pans out to reveal the entire field surrounded by police cars. Police officers are seen waiting for him and when he never shows up, they begin looking for him, but can not find him. The camera now shows Jason in the distance, hiding behind a tree. How he got there, we don't know. He continues to run in the rain and, one might say stupidly, goes back to the penthouse. He goes up to his daughters bedroom and looks into her cot. She is still and pale. He touches her cheek and then checks for a pulse and his worst fear is true. He stumbles out of the room and gets sick on the living room floor. The final scene shows Jason dousing the entire penthouse in petrol. He then sits on the very couch he did an interview on at the beginning of the video. He has his deceased daughter in his arms and proceeds and lights a cigarette. He takes one drag and closes his eyes before tossing it onto the floor and then the entire place goes up in flames.

Track listing

 * Promotional CD
 * 1) "Eyeliner"


 * Digital Download
 * 1) "Eyeliner"


 * Digital Single
 * 1) "Eyeliner"
 * 2) "Eyeliner" (Instrumental)
 * 3) "Download You" (Fred Falke's Error Overload Dub)


 * Remix EP
 * 1) "Eyeliner"
 * 2) "Eyeliner" (Shadow Child Club Mix)
 * 3) "Eyeliner" (Shadow Child Radio Edit)
 * 4) "Eyeliner" (Dave Audé Club Dub)
 * 5) "Eyeliner" (Dave Audé Radio Mix)
 * 6) "Eyeliner" (Adrian Michaels Guyliner Club Mix)
 * 7) "Eyeliner" (Adrian Michaels Guyliner Radio Edit)

Chart performance
Total UK sales: 245,177