Glasvegas | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Based in Glasgow, Scotland, indie rock quartet Glasvegas comprise cousins James Allan (singer and principal songwriter) and Rab Allan (guitar), bassist Paul Donoghue, and drummer Jonna Löfgren. Although they deftly fused a love of doo wop and classic, Spector-produced pop with a nod to some of the more intense and inventive guitar acts of the 80s, perhaps the bands defining attribute was in James Allans earnest lyricism. Former Creation boss Alan McGee and ex-Libertines guitarist Carl Barât were so struck by a 2006 hometown performance by the band that each went on to ensure that more people witnessed their powerful live sets. Their third single, "Daddys Gone," was ranked as the second best track of 2007 by NME and even led to the band striking up a friendship with Lisa Marie Presley after the song came to her attention. Next, their platinum-selling debut album, Glasvegas, received widespread praise following its release on Columbia in September 2008, and went on to be nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 2009. Less than three months after the release of their debut, the Transylvania-recorded, Christmas-themed EP A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) was issued, bringing further acclaim. The bands sophomore full-length, Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\, was written, demoed, and tracked at a beach house in Santa Monica, California during 2010 before undergoing final production under the direction of Flood in London. Before any recording had taken place, it was announced that original drummer Caroline McKay had left the band. Her replacement, Swedish music student Jonna Löfgren, joined Glasvegas after sessions for the album had been completed. On its release in April 2011, Euphoric /// Heartbreak \\\ reached the Top Ten of the U.K. album chart and also hit the number one spot in Sweden. To promote the album, the band embarked on a second world tour, which incorporated their biggest European headline gigs to date as well as successful trips to both Australia and Japan. Then, in late 2013, Glasvegas returned with a self-produced third studio album, Later...When the TV Turns to Static, released through BMG. The next couple of years brought further live dates throughout Europe and North America, and Later... also enjoyed a summer 2014 release in Central and South America. To assist with promotion of the album in these territories, the Secret Truth EP was issued, before Allan relocated to Stockholm to work on new material. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 7 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2008 Released: 2008-07-04 Tracks: 3 Duration: 10:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Geraldine (03:39) 2 Polmont On My Mind (03:54) 3 Go Square Go (03:08) |
 | Album: 2 of 7 Title: Glasvegas Released: 2008-09-05 Tracks: 12 Duration: 54:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Flowers & Football Tops (06:56) 2 Geraldine (03:45) 3 It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry (04:25) 4 Lonesome Swan (02:43) 5 Go Square Go (03:26) 6 Polmont on My Mind (03:51) 7 Daddy’s Gone (04:23) 8 Stabbed (02:22) 9 S.A.D. Light (04:00) 10 Ice Cream Van (06:56) 11 The Prettiest Thing on Saltcoats Beach (06:24) 12 Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime (04:53) |
| Glasvegas : Allmusic album Review : Having ridden a mountain of critical and publicist-generated hype as well as U.K. chart success into the North American market like so many other British bands, Glasvegas offer a bombastic, angsty self-titled debut filled with earnest emotion and pounding Wall of Sound dynamics. And as with so many of their peers, the reality doesnt completely match the hype, as the band sometimes struggle to create anything as vital as the work of the artists that influenced them. Still, theres charm and energy to spare, and some wonderful singles on an album that some might consider overly samey and in some spurts seemingly lazy. Getting past the impressionist black-and-white front sleeve that wrongly suggests another Joy Division tribute band, there might be nothing innovative about the Glasvegas musical style, but at least their influences make for an interesting mix. Though frontman James Allans accent betrays his Scottish nationality, his delivery and the groups anthemic playing immediately and somewhat uncannily recall Cork, Irelands comparatively overlooked the Frank and Walters. Where they lack the wit of that band, for better or worse, they compensate at times with urgency and ample doses of 60s era Phil Spector humming choruses that bring to mind a rocking male version of the Ronettes, thunderous percussion, and stream of conscious lyrics peppered with patches cribbed from the past. Many critics have mentioned a similarity to shoegazer gods the Jesus and Mary Chain, but thats mostly a byproduct of Allan and co-producer Rich Costeys busy production. Album opener "Flowers and Football Tops" is the best example of all these elements, with its Spector-like "woo hoos" and everything but the kitchen sink percussion. There are obvious hints of U2 in the songs anthemic, emotional subject matter and equally colossal production. It relates the sorrow of the family of a young Scottish teenager kidnapped and murdered by a racially motivated gang. Knowing the backstory adds quite a bit of power to a song thats already powerful, and the touching conclusion where Allan sings a considerable passage of "You Are My Sunshine" might seem laughable not knowing the songs origin. A handful of tracks pack a similar power, particularly "Geraldine," with its catchy but sorrowful chorus of "My name is Geraldine, Im youre social worker," and the rushing Brill building-on-steroids of "Go Square Go" with its slightly crude but invigorating repetition of "here we, here we, here we fucking go again." The albums first half has about twice and much energy as its second, and things nearly grind to a halt with the musical misstep of classical piano on "Stabbed," but listening closer to the melodies below the noisy squall reveals songs like "S.A.D. Light" and "Daddys Gone" to be winning growers. The slower moments of these songs are nearly drowned out by the heavy-handed production. Costey knows his way around a studio and how to extract sonic muscle, but theres a sense of grabbing at times as the Spector aping goes over the top. Some might question why so much sonic assault is necessary when the songs are already so strong. The lyrics and song structures are anthemic enough, and the busy production drives some fine, near ballad-like numbers into overwrought territory. The emotional clarity, everyman anthems, and often glorious melodies of Glasvegas suggests Allan and company have a bright future ahead of them with or without the Baroque production. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 7 Title: A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) Released: 2008-12-01 Tracks: 6 Duration: 22:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Careful What You Wish For (01:49) 2 Fuck You, Its Over (04:44) 3 Cruel Moon (04:36) 4 Please Come Back Home (03:29) 5 A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) (04:23) 6 Silent Night (Noapte de Vis) (03:00) |
 | Album: 4 of 7 Title: EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ Released: 2011-04-04 Tracks: 11 Duration: 49:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Pain Pain, Never Again (02:59) 2 The World Is Yours (04:53) 3 You (04:29) 4 Shine Like Stars (03:36) 5 Whatever Hurts You Through the Night (04:38) 6 Stronger Than Dirt (Homosexuality, Part 2) (03:46) 7 Dream Dream Dreaming (05:17) 8 I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality, Part 1) (05:08) 9 Euphoria, Take My Hand (04:33) 10 Lots Sometimes (07:11) 11 Change (03:14) |
| EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\ : Allmusic album Review : Scottish alt-rockers Glasvegas 2008 debut landed the brooding Glaswegians a Mercury Prize nomination. Glasvegas winning but not-so-subtle amalgamation of U2, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, late-period Depeche Mode, and the Jesus and Mary Chain hinted at a band that was ready to make a go of it, and their simple, earnest lyrics, as filtered through the thick yet sweet brogue of frontman James Allan, had listeners swooning, despite all of the bands sonic redundancies. Written, demoed, and tracked at a beach house in Santa Monica, California before undergoing final production under the direction of producer Flood in London, Euphoric Heartbreak keeps the fire burning, but feeds it only the wispiest of kindling. Like their Welsh counterparts, the Joy Formidable, Glasvegas have their sights set clearly on the upper bowl of the stadium, but where TJF manage to fill that space with an unholy, hook-filled racket, Glasvegas tend to let the moment fizzle. At its most immediate, like on the standout tracks “Shine Like Stars,” the Disintegration-era Cure-inspired “Whatever Hurts You Through the Night,” and the soaring title cut, the latter of which would sit snugly amidst the teenage ruin of a John Hughes prom scene, the band sounds ready for battle, but too much time is spent slogging through the swamps of defeat, many of which are adorned with forgettable choruses and melodies that arrive at dead ends, only to bash themselves against the wall hoping for some kind of merciful respite. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 7 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2011 Released: 2011-07-18 Tracks: 6 Duration: 37:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The World Is Yours (05:02) 2 You (04:25) 3 Moon River / Euphoria, Take My Hand (06:53) 4 Ice Cream Van (07:21) 5 Flowers & Football Tops (07:43) 6 Daddys Gone (06:27) |
 | Album: 6 of 7 Title: If Released: 2013-07-08 Tracks: 4 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 If (?) 2 Press 3 The Words that Maketh Murder (?) 4 Finished Sympathy (Demo) (?) |
 | Album: 7 of 7 Title: Later… When the TV Turns to Static Released: 2013-09-02 Tracks: 10 Duration: 44:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Later... When the TV Turns to Static (05:23) 2 Youngblood (04:42) 3 Choices (03:56) 4 All I Want Is My Baby (02:51) 5 Secret Truth (03:56) 6 I’d Rather Be Dead (Than Be with You) (03:11) 7 Magazine (03:46) 8 If (04:28) 9 Neon Bedroom (04:11) 10 Finished Sympathy (08:22) |