With Eyes Like Stars, James Anthony Wolff opens the door to a long-form conversation he’s been having with himself for years. The songs, many of which began life between 2004 and 2016, feel like they exist in their own quiet dimension, untouched by urgency.
Wolff’s classical training doesn’t weigh the songs down. If anything, it gives them space to breathe. Live instrumentation anchors the record: drums that feel played rather than programmed, strings that sound with intention, guitars that shimmer without dominating. But the real throughline here is restraint, an intentional decision to let the emotional temperature of each track rise slowly, if at all.
“Invisible Shadows” floats like a thought that won’t go away. “The Darkest Longest Night” takes its time building into something that feels close to an answer. “Fight or Flight” straddles reflection and transformation, using sparse lyrics to leave space for interpretation.
Wolff doesn’t offer simple closure. These are songs for quiet walks, long nights, and pages that still haven’t been turned. Eyes Like Stars invites you to stay with the discomfort and, maybe, to find something valuable there.
