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Glands - Glands |
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ALBUM REVIEWSPick of the Chick: Our Favorite Releases, 1999-Present |
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At last, a band has emerged from Athens, Georgia, with great music AND lyrics that you can understand. (Sorry Michael Stipe, we love you, but what the hell were you saying between '81 and '87?) On their second album, the Glands have breathed new life into an indie pop genre that was left for dead. The music has a retro feel, with many songs bringing to mind bands like Mercury Rev or Summer-Teeth-era Wilco. But unlike these bands, the Glands strip out many of the psychedelic-pop-revivalist bells and whistles (e.g., there are no theremins or musical saws here). What's left are foot-tappin' pop ditties like the opening track "Livin' Was Easy" (picture Stealers Wheel and early-Steely Dan playing indie rock), "Swim," and "Straight Down." These tracks are filled with the kind of hooks that make you wish the songs were longer. The upbeat songs on the album are tempered by mellower tracks like "Mayflower," "Ground," "Soul Inspiration," and "Fortress." Although these slower tracks are well written, they tend to kill the foot-stompin' buzz generated by the upbeat cuts. Many of these somber tracks are also lumped towards the end of the record, but this placement gives the listener a good excuse to go back to the beginning with "Livin' Was Easy" to get that foot moving again. PIGEONHOLE: Stripped-down indie-pop with loads
of hooks. The music is reminiscent of the recent output by psychedelic-pop-revivalists
like Mercury Rev and Wilco, but without all those distracting bells and
whistles.
Andrew Helminger |
THE GLANDS
