Eyeliner

"Eyeliner" is a song by Australian singer/songwriter Jason, released on May 13th 2014 as the first 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 on a beach 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. Most of the video consists of black and white footage of Jason wandering the beach while singing the lyrics to the song. There are some shots shown of the singer and a male lover at (what is presumed to be) a gay club, where Jason's lover continuously flirts with other men. Towards the end of the video, Jason and his lover get into an argument in their apartment over this and Jason sets the house ablaze, locking them both inside. The flames are in color, unlike anything else in the video. The piece ends with Jason shown on the beach smoking a cigarette and blowing smoke towards the camera.

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)