The Glasses – The New Guy Weighs in on Our Staff Band
The Glasses
The Glasses
Double Dos Records
By Paul Groth
I was expecting something new from the Glasses after hearing their debut EP a while back. I initially heard some aspects of the Apples in Stereo sound, but I was left wondering if I could boil down to one major comparison. Now, with the release of The Glasses, I realize there are sonic surprises and different aspects to the band’s sound, so let’s take a look at three of these dimensions. 3D Glasses, if you will.
The first dimension, the Shoegazer Dimension, is found in "Pattern of Sight." From the first floating guitar line to the distant, slowdive-r vocal track, this song is intergalactic, but this makes sense, as Glasses vocalist/guitarist Will Wagler has played with the spacetacular Hypatia Lake. You’ll hear a falsetto Brian Wilsonian vocal at the end of this song that’ll give you good vibrations and excitations. The airy vocals are juxtaposed with curve-y distorted guitars that recall late 80’s dream pop. "The Smart Move" has slinky slide guitars over a brassy bed of rhythm guitar, bass and drums that bursts into a chaotic and dangerous din after the chorus.
The Glasses
The Glasses
Double Dos Records
By Paul Groth
I was expecting something new from the Glasses after hearing their debut EP a while back. I initially heard some aspects of the Apples in Stereo sound, but I was left wondering if I could boil down to one major comparison. Now, with the release of The Glasses, I realize there are sonic surprises and different aspects to the band’s sound, so let’s take a look at three of these dimensions. 3D Glasses, if you will.
The first dimension, the Shoegazer Dimension, is found in "Pattern of Sight." From the first floating guitar line to the distant, slowdive-r vocal track, this song is intergalactic, but this makes sense, as Glasses vocalist/guitarist Will Wagler has played with the spacetacular Hypatia Lake. You’ll hear a falsetto Brian Wilsonian vocal at the end of this song that’ll give you good vibrations and excitations. The airy vocals are juxtaposed with curve-y distorted guitars that recall late 80’s dream pop. "The Smart Move" has slinky slide guitars over a brassy bed of rhythm guitar, bass and drums that bursts into a chaotic and dangerous din after the chorus.
If you like the spacey side of Mudhoney, "Cool Girls" will catch your ear and chew on it for a while in the Glasses’ Garage Dimension. It scrapes and grinds and has that clank-y guitar vs. sludgy guitar sound that made this city famous. Then it revs up to a garage-punk romp while maintaining a Spacemen 3 appeal amongst the rat-tat-tat drum sound and Wagler’s snide spoken lyrics among the guitar buzzes that are thicker than gravy. With lyics like, "Cool girls/ They just want to be your John the Baptist/ Never open to be your Christ" and "You wouldn’t even touch her skin/ Afraid you’d be pleased," it’s hard to tell if they dislike the titular Cool Girls or not.
"See for Yourself’s" psychotropic VU melody is hard to forget. The drums and bass on this ditty pound and jive, while the guitars fill in the gaps with high end White Light/White Heat textures. If they practice in a garage, there should be a Dodge Dart on blocks next to the drum kit, while dog-eared posters of The Stooges and 2001: A Space Odyssey slowly slide off the wall. On to their Pop Dimension–
I mentioned their similarity to Apples in Stereo, heard in songs like "Binary" and "Unglued." Vocally and melodically driven, these songs have high vocal harmonies and Beatle-esque guitar changes that show the band’s accessibility. I can hear an almost Weezer too, but since black wide-rimmed geek glasses are the band’s symbol, it’s hard not to make the comparison.
Some of the other songs sound like sitcom theme music, but overall, The Glasses have a good thing going. I’ll remember that it ends on a stellar note and there IS a certain kind of radio friendliness, but the listener will have to decide what kind of station on which they’ll be played. – (7/10)