Glasvegas

Glasvegas

Written by: TL on 04/01/2009 14:18:20

As tradition has come to prescribe, my first review of a new year is going to be a straggler from the last, and as our staff scrambles out of the drunken stupor we've all been residing in for a week (or two), to finish up that 2008 wrap-up article you've been waiting for (it'll be up soon, I swear), the top priority is for me to bail MR out of his long delayed Glasvegas review, so that the record can be included in said article.

About Glasvegas, you really should have heard of them by now. The 2003-formed Scottish rock band have been hyped to a level that only the British press can manage, and while being named "the biggest British thing since Arctic Monkeys" and what not, their self-titled debut album has been gathering airplay and award nominations all over the board. However, if you haven't even laid ears to the radio hit "Geraldine", here's a description of what you've missed:

Glasvegas play easily accessible tradionalist rock, of the dark and soft kind with a slightly simple attitude (think Kings Of Leon), with vocals like those of Oasis and an accent thicker than Bono's. Most songs are of a balladic nature, revolving around themes from the lower side of society which falls nicely in line with Britain's established tradition for urban/gutter-glam (Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis). As for the album, it opens up extremely strong with especially tracks two and three, "Geraldine" and "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry", both featuring irresistibly catchy lyrics and melodies that just keep soaring higher and higher at every turn, and the Oasis references that are worked perfectly into the latter doesn't exactly hurt it either. Expect that one to stay on your mind for a long time. "Lonesome Swan" continues a bit less convincing before the tempo is taken up with the rousing "Go Square Go", bringing the album to another sweeping high point.

"Polmont On My Mind" takes the tempo and energy down to a subtle level again immediately, but this doesn't take anything away from the quality level Glasvegas has maintained throughout. The remaining four songs take more form of atmospheric, mood-setting pieces, as exemplified the clearest in the piano-driven "Stabbed", and the effect is that they are more like songs that you can just chill out to and get wrapped up in, rather than being swept off your feet, singing along and such.

In the end, me and MR would both like to give this a very strong recommendation to everyone who's into bands like Oasis and Kings Of Leon, and while I myself don't find "Glasvegas" to be quite as strong an album as "Only By The Night", it's pretty much as solid a good clean mainstream rock-album as can be.

8

Download: Geraldine, It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry, Go Square Go
For The Fans Of: Oasis, Kings Of Leon, U2,
Listen: myspace.com/glasvegas

Release Date 07.10.2008
BMG/Arista Records

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