Nebulous grooves and foggy, filmic soundscapes are the order of the day for Liverpool’s fully-formed newcomers Glue Moon, Getintothis’ Patrick Clarke has the lowdown on their latest.
It’s not often a band’s first outing sounds much like Glue Moon‘s Stockholm Zone – delicate, balanced and poised to perfection, yet still undercut with a looming sense of characterful atmospherics, it hits a sweeter spot than the majority of their contemporary debutantes.
In the wake of James Blake and co.’s propulsion of graceful minimalism to the edge of the electronic mainstream, the majority of synth-songwriting pretenders tend today to ascend to little more than a weak, warbling vocal atop a by-numbers post-dubstep beat, plumping for the proverbial style over substance for the latest in a slew of forgettable hype-fodder.
While hardly a backwards step, Glue Moon essentially do the opposite. The threesome – Will Hall, Paul Brown and Owen Lennon – use their own electronic infusions to the end of a more solid, swirling, obsidian atmospheric – the clicks, whines and whirls of synth, samples and misshapen guitar eddying about a central, still-tender vocal and providing it a far foggier, more stimulating backing.
Their latest (and still only their second) offering New World strengthens that prevailing personality – churning, twisting keys that call to mind the absorption of vintage Amnesiac Radiohead are a stumbling backbone, while an all-too brief late ascent into an understated crescendo of warm psychedelia is captivation enough to sell their idiosyncrasies.
That a mere two tracks can betray so much potential is indication enough of some months of live drilling – over a year on the circuit seeing dues clearly paid and a refined, encapsulating sound well-honed. They are, in short, an impeccable pair for a group’s first, and the surest indication of the unshakable growth of a much-needed unique new voice in electronica.
