Glasvegas “Glasvegas” Review

The hype started well before Glasgow, Scotland’s Glasvegas had even released as much as an EP, with major label bidding wars breaking out in the UK based simply on a string of self-released 7″ singles. And finally, for a change, the hype is well deserved, as the young Scots deliver a fantastic album full of passion, soaring anthems, and confidence that belies their age and studio experience, and hearkens back, musically, to a much simpler time, with it’s subtly catchy 50′s-style do-wop sound mixed with the swirling guitars and booming drums of modern rock. The album was produced by music industry stalwart Rich Costey, whose presence and expertise certainly helps the band expand their depth of sound on the record, as each song seems to soar and swell into something that often sounds bigger than your typical four-piece.

At the center of that massive sound is frontman James Allan (who also did production work on the record), whose singing style thankfully leaves his thick Glaswegian accent on full display, adding to the endearing quality of his often dark and despairing lyrics, his cousin Rab Allan, who’s spiraling guitar work, when combined with James’, often carries the songs to their lofty heights, and the insistent drumming of Caroline McKay (replacement for original drummer Ryan Ross), who’s booming drums are frequently front and center in Costey’s mix, and keep the songs continually churning forward.

The songs are an interesting mix of the urgency of the modern day combined with a heady nod to nursery rhymes (“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) grade school teasing (“Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire”) old standards (“You Are My Sunshine”) and the glory days of brit-pop (offhandedly quoting Oasis’ What’s The Story, Morning Glory). They even manage to incorporate Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” deftly into an unsettling song, “Stabbed,” that is essentially about getting jumped, and, well, stabbed. It’s a sonic collage that never feels forced and always seems to sound fresh. Despite all of its familiar and classic influences, the album never fails to sound consistently modern.

photo by Peter Mallet

“Flowers & Football Tops,” is a real corker to start the album, a seven minute anthem that builds to a discordant finish (which incorporates the “Sunshine” standard mentioned earlier) that most bands would place at the end of their record, not bravely at the start. And it sets the tone for the album, as well, with each song slickly blending into the next, never really giving the listener time to catch their breath. “Geraldine” is an absolute smash hit, a loud, raucous ode to, of all things, a social worker (has there ever been such a theme in music?) “Daddy’s Gone,” with its clichèd theme of abandonment, could sound hackneyed in less qualified hands than James’, but he turns it into a dignified song of achievement and defiance that manages to be the album’s centerpiece.

It’s quite refreshing to see a band deliver so strongly on their promise and their hype straight out of the gates, with no backpedaling or inflated sense of worth here. Glasvegas truly are the real deal, hype be damned. They have the songs, they have the heart, and they even have the looks. So, it’s all onward and upward from here on out for Glasvegas, whose only wrong turn so far has been to skip Minneapolis (and even Chicago) on their first full-scale U.S. tour (Booooo!!). But based on the strength of this debut record alone, they should be touring the States and the world for years to come. I recommend you all come along for the ride.

Also: Glasvegas & Von Iva @ Varsity Theater