maximalist prog-jazz-emo for the agoraphobic and apocalyptic. aka my chimerical romance. sorta feels like saves the day, say anything, hellogoodbye, and the hotelier blenderized into a purée. before i heard it i balked at the running time but an hour feels like it goes by in seconds when so many catchy melodies are whipping by your head like hummingbirds. probably the most impressive and ambitious debut album of the year. kudos to tim f for putting me onto them initially, kudos to the rolling emo thread for reinforcing just how great this record actually is. and they're on run for cover now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxoDHXRpENo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYkPElpuYoo
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 16:57 (four years ago) link
the MCR connection wasn't fully cemented for me till I watched the "classic j dies" video. great album, very curious to see where they could even go from here, I'm guessing towards more of a live-band feel following some touring. speaking of which I am desperately hoping they tour properly!
― Simon H., Wednesday, 13 November 2019 17:02 (four years ago) link
I'm also gratified that there's an "internet band" the kids like that I also like because it proves I am not quite yet dead lol
― Simon H., Wednesday, 13 November 2019 17:05 (four years ago) link
love this record
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 17:06 (four years ago) link
yess, love that these guys are getting attention. i think the reason why i like this more than 100 gecs other 'internet bands' is that glass beach eschews off-putting archness for a theater-kid sincerity. it really helps carry their ambition and make the album feel like a lot more than just 1000 ideas thrown at the wall.
― kanye kendrick frank kendrick frank kanye (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 13 November 2019 17:53 (four years ago) link
also the boring but true fact that underneath the "change arrangements every 8 bars" approach the songs are just really fucking good
― Simon H., Wednesday, 13 November 2019 17:55 (four years ago) link
all the best parts of the brave little abacus meets all the best parts of lemon demon. love em. chatted with them a bit on Instagram too and they were very very nice. extremely talented band.
― gman59, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 22:53 (four years ago) link
i am halfway through this record and it's the most absurd and astounding music i've heard this year and i'm amazed it works as well as it does
completely unsurprised to find they started out in the chiptune scene, the band they feel closest to is Crying but they just go a lot further
― ufo, Wednesday, 13 November 2019 23:27 (four years ago) link
i think my main issue with this is the emo-ness of his voice clashes with the smooth parts too much
― ufo, Thursday, 14 November 2019 06:23 (four years ago) link
Love this album so much, the transitions are always so satisfying.
― Tim F, Thursday, 14 November 2019 07:51 (four years ago) link
i think "dallas" is my favourite on this, a real journey
― ufo, Friday, 15 November 2019 13:59 (four years ago) link
yoshi's island is my favorite i think
― ciderpress, Friday, 15 November 2019 14:26 (four years ago) link
― ufo, Thursday, November 14, 2019 1:23 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink
i noticed this too, but i actually find it really charming
― jacquees, full of cobras (voodoo chili), Friday, 15 November 2019 15:34 (four years ago) link
it's just taking a bit of getting used to, there's certainly a lot to like about it
has imago heard this yet he'd surely love it?
― ufo, Saturday, 16 November 2019 08:18 (four years ago) link
I've played it around him a couple of times and I think he liked it, but wasn't concentrating enough, so I'll redouble my efforts.
It's great returning to this album and finding new parts to love each time. My favourite track changes with each listen, but at the moment it's probably the closer, orchids.
― tangenttangent, Saturday, 16 November 2019 11:43 (four years ago) link
bumping to remind everyone to vote in the year-end poll
― culture of mayordom (voodoo chili), Thursday, 9 January 2020 17:36 (four years ago) link
the best album
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 9 January 2020 17:37 (four years ago) link
definitely the shortest hourlong album in recent memory
― bold caucasian eroticism (Simon H.), Thursday, 9 January 2020 17:40 (four years ago) link
it'll be in my top 5 for sure
― ciderpress, Thursday, 9 January 2020 17:43 (four years ago) link
oh wow this is fun.. hope it can sustain what im hearing on the first two songs lol
love these track titles
― championship winning vibration (Spottie), Thursday, 9 January 2020 18:57 (four years ago) link
it gets a little less hectic, but the songs remain very very good
― culture of mayordom (voodoo chili), Thursday, 9 January 2020 19:08 (four years ago) link
lots of ideas being thrown around on this. not sure I can pin down what they are going for but I guess thats the point.
― championship winning vibration (Spottie), Thursday, 9 January 2020 19:11 (four years ago) link
p4k review: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/glass-beach-the-first-glass-beach-album/
― culture of mayordom (voodoo chili), Thursday, 30 January 2020 14:12 (four years ago) link
joining the blessed pantheon of beloved personal faves hitting the 6-to-7 P4k score range; it's in good company
― bold caucasian eroticism (Simon H.), Thursday, 30 January 2020 14:26 (four years ago) link
feel like i must've hallucinated a pfork review of this last year
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 30 January 2020 15:19 (four years ago) link
buncha cool new-ish glass beach related youtube content:
mini album of rough jams/sketches/songs? from j released during the present quarantinehttps://youtube.com/watch?v"vH1bkPuQAvk
90 min long 'the making if the first glass beach album' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjbxWWNKKE
― lumen (esby), Wednesday, 1 April 2020 08:07 (three years ago) link
whoops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH1bkPuQAvk
― lumen (esby), Wednesday, 1 April 2020 08:08 (three years ago) link
glass beach good
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 18:10 (three years ago) link
gecs: made of wood
i gotta check out that classic j quarantine thing
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 18:11 (three years ago) link
I started to listen to this yesterday when mentioned in the gecs thread but got interrupted, liked what I heard so far I think.
― silby, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 19:56 (three years ago) link
new song: https://glassbeach.bandcamp.com/track/running
sounds like if the beths covered ave maria. on sale for the low low price of $100.
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Thursday, 30 July 2020 16:02 (three years ago) link
there's also a neal schon-style power ballad solo near the end, which is cool.
― mozzy star (voodoo chili), Thursday, 30 July 2020 16:03 (three years ago) link
I genuinely thought this was going to be on the Bill and Ted soundtrack for a second and had to check. They sound as good in arena rock mode as any other.
― tangenttangent, Wednesday, 19 August 2020 10:06 (three years ago) link
https://glassbeach.bandcamp.com/track/classic-j-dies-and-gets-a-million-streams-on-spotify
super fun acoustic version of "classic j" to celebrate the song surpassing 1 million spotify streams.
― i got a homogenic björk wine farmer permabanned (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 16 September 2020 19:21 (three years ago) link
ok i finally love this
― ufo, Tuesday, 13 October 2020 01:32 (three years ago) link
the more i listen the more I think “classic j” is one of my favorite songs ever
― covidiot wind (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 13 October 2020 01:54 (three years ago) link
If, like me, you got excited by seeing a 14-minute new Glass Beach track on your Release Radar, you should know it's a (sigh) car seat headrest cover
― stylish but illegal (Simon H.), Friday, 8 January 2021 13:17 (three years ago) link
it's at least an improvement on the original
― ufo, Friday, 8 January 2021 13:30 (three years ago) link
while you wait for the second glass beach album
https://glassbeach.bandcamp.com/album/alchemist-rats-beg-bashful-remixes
― stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Tuesday, 23 February 2021 18:59 (three years ago) link
https://glassbeach.bandcamp.com/track/welcome-to-the-black-parade
― Clara Lemlich stan account (silby), Tuesday, 29 June 2021 21:55 (two years ago) link
https://t.co/Dy1ciEB8pK pic.twitter.com/ikr5gHs6Zk— ??????? (@glassbeachband) September 27, 2023
some activity!
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Thursday, 28 September 2023 15:59 (six months ago) link
they're back baby! in slightly toned down form, it seems. tho i like this one a lot, it swings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx57HI6WEUQ
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 14:11 (five months ago) link
of course, "slightly toned down" in glass beach terms still includes a jazz/dubstep/hardcore/doom metal freakout that takes up the last 90 seconds or so of the song
― is he disgruntled adrian? (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 14:15 (five months ago) link
What do we think?
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 January 2024 14:18 (two months ago) link
emo cardiacs have done it again
― ivy., Friday, 19 January 2024 14:31 (two months ago) link
IVY I HAVE TO DO MY EOY NOW
― imago, Friday, 19 January 2024 14:31 (two months ago) link
do it to the unmellow strains of glass beach, fine
― imago, Friday, 19 January 2024 14:36 (two months ago) link
'motions' has rendered me incapable of assembling an EOY
― imago, Friday, 19 January 2024 14:44 (two months ago) link
this is way jazzier and looser than the last one and i think that's just great
― ivy., Friday, 19 January 2024 15:05 (two months ago) link
yes yes yes
― ciderpress, Friday, 19 January 2024 15:08 (two months ago) link
rare animal
― ciderpress, Friday, 19 January 2024 15:26 (two months ago) link
'cul-de-sac' is unbelievable
― ciderpress, Friday, 19 January 2024 17:19 (two months ago) link
haven't had a chance to listen to the album yet so i'm choosing to believe it's a cover of the song from van morrison's veedon fleece
― kissinger on my list (voodoo chili), Friday, 19 January 2024 17:21 (two months ago) link
the album sounds in places like Clinic as Of Montreal.
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 January 2024 17:25 (two months ago) link
this fucking album
― Tim F, Monday, 22 January 2024 13:37 (two months ago) link
amazing a song like "cul-de-sac" exists, the instrumental bridge is somewhere between anniversary "shu shubat" and bloc party "so here we are" aka right in my solar plexus
― ivy., Monday, 22 January 2024 19:03 (two months ago) link
I'm on that song right now. It's extremely good isn't it
― imago, Monday, 22 January 2024 19:41 (two months ago) link
"motions" has still rendered me incapable of simple menial tasks
― imago, Monday, 22 January 2024 19:42 (two months ago) link
some of these merge the ugly and the beautiful so devastatingly
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 January 2024 20:10 (two months ago) link
This is great, like perfect even
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 26 January 2024 00:39 (two months ago) link
i like it, luckily i heard it before i saw someone use the 'c' word or i wouldnt have listened
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Friday, 26 January 2024 00:41 (two months ago) link
'commatose' is quite quite something isn't it
― imago, Friday, 26 January 2024 01:14 (two months ago) link
its better than arrest
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Friday, 26 January 2024 01:27 (two months ago) link
It sounds like a dozen odd bands I was told I should like and didn’t so much, but I love this. Melody/chord choices are flattening
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 26 January 2024 01:46 (two months ago) link
this is a total triumph, wow
― ufo, Friday, 26 January 2024 11:32 (two months ago) link
Holds up after a week.
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 26 January 2024 11:35 (two months ago) link
it's like the first cymbals eat guitars album if it were 10x more emo and 10x more prog
― ufo, Friday, 26 January 2024 11:49 (two months ago) link
I gave this a quick partial listen, and my enjoyment to less enjoyment progression was sort of real time. Per fgti, it reminded me of lots of stuff all at once, which was both overwhelming and underwhelming. For some reason I kept thinking of Grizzly Bear and video game music and ... Vulfpeck? Don't really know why on that last one, lol. Dunno if I'll give it another shot, not everything is for everyone, but I do love the enthusiasm!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 26 January 2024 13:46 (two months ago) link
It sounds like Of Montreal (on paper) before that band consistently whiffs every aspect of its execution, it sounds like Black MIDI except designed for repeat listening rather than a single aggressive sugar rush, it sounds like a dozen jazz grad bands I know who haven’t mastered the delicate balance of knowledge and grace (except this band has done so). It basically sounds like the music in my head that I’m not capable of making
Grizzly Bear were defined (for me) by Chris Bear’s biff-clunk Tom Waitsian drumming, that band never attempted liftoff and that was fine for them, glass beach are pretty buoyant in contrast
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 26 January 2024 14:49 (two months ago) link
grizzly bear occasionally dabbled in odd time signatures but otherwise that’s a pretty baffling comparison
― kissinger on my list (voodoo chili), Friday, 26 January 2024 14:57 (two months ago) link
I honestly can never remember what Grizzly Bear sounds like, lol. I know kind of prog, iirc.When I listened to this album at first I assumed the drums were programmed. Then I wondered if the entire thing was programmed.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 26 January 2024 15:01 (two months ago) link
It sounds like Of Montreal (on paper) before that band consistently whiffs every aspect of its execution
yep!
― poppers fueled buttsex crescendo (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 26 January 2024 15:22 (two months ago) link
scowling at both of you
― imago, Friday, 26 January 2024 15:35 (two months ago) link
This band does sound like Grizzly Bear, but also Mew, and a ton of other things. I would have never listened to it without seeing this thread being pumped, because Glass Beach is probably the most faceless band name i could ever imagine. anyway, great record.
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 30 January 2024 15:37 (one month ago) link
this album is indeed great. they could've stopped making music after "classic j" with their legacy secured, but i'm glad they kept goin
― kissinger on my list (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 30 January 2024 16:20 (one month ago) link
jeez just a day after declaring julia holter aoty (shut up lj) i'm revisiting this and thinking it's so good we should've delayed the emo poll until this year so it could place in the top 20
― ivy., Saturday, 23 March 2024 19:52 (six days ago) link
amazed at how much it reminds me of j-rock, assuming that's a consequence of how jazzy it can be or how much anime the band members have watched
― ivy., Saturday, 23 March 2024 20:06 (six days ago) link