Gliss: Devotion Implosion

ALBUM REVIEW: Gliss – Devotion Implosion (Cordless)
words: Jamie Milton — originally scribed for gigwise.com

The title of ‘Devotion Implosion‘ gives enough clues as to this LA-via-Denmark three piece’s intentions. And whilst it could be inferred to suggest Gliss “implode” as to collapse under pressure or to lose control, they actually handle eruptions with class and control.

A wall-of-noise that could be hired as an assassin detonates in ‘Morning Light‘ and remains throughout. Gliss don’t do an awful lot to move from this explosive stance but the decibels scatter between blissed-out, mid-tempo riff-heavy numbers such as the aforementioned opening track and more pop-centric offerings, fronted by Martin Klingman’s vulnerable sounding vocals, examples of which are discovered on ‘29 Acts of Love‘, the song on ‘Devotion Implosion’ that hits you far before the others even consider doing so.

This is what Gliss do quite well. They certainly cite their musical influences (one would state The Jesus and the Mary Chain’s legacy is growing by the year) with honour and respect but they warp what’s been inhaled into a more accessible package than that of the noise-heavy heroes of the past.

“rapturous rock music”

But you can only do so much in that respect. ‘Devotion Implosion‘ is so thick and furry the listener is soon blown away and finds themselves unable to re-access the album. In fact the opening two tracks are enough to win you over but what follows isn’t nearly as invigorating. There’s the sloppy, high-as-a-kite ‘Sad Eyes’, the limited and riff-reliant ‘Anybody Inside’ – but most of this album’s faults don’t come in unforced-errors, it’s more about what’s not achieved under the circumstances. The whole package was there: beautiful artwork that compliments the rapturous rock music to a T, a huge array of fuzz pedals and speaker-blowing amplifiers and one would imagine a decent budget. What could have been a ferocious, merciless pop-rock album from start to finish is instead top-heavy and can’t keep your interest by any means. It’ll take endless listens or solidified concentration to uncover the intelligent and whimsy ‘Beauty‘, Klingman sounding swept away by sex and substances, commanding and attention-luring like Julian Casablancas is on ‘Is This It‘.

And many simply won’t have the time to focus for hours in order to discover the merits of ‘Devotion Implosion‘. Whilst the band make every effort to re-create this skyscraper, blissed-out ilk of rock more listener-friendly and accessible, the genre’s thick skull triumphs and the album becomes an electrocuting fence that wards you off from immersing yourself in it. Regardless, Gliss sound like they had the time of their lives making this and that much is apparent from the off.

6.3

mp3: Morning Light

ALBUM: WHOMADEWHO – THE PLOT

ALBUM REVIEW: WhoMadeWho – The Plot
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for gigwise

Here comes a rant: Every semi-popular band out there has had their career stained ever so slightly with illegal downloading of their work. WhoMadeWho are evidently a band you can put into that category. But whether it was a collective decision or not, to place the voice of an increasingly annoying French woman over every track on ‘The Plot’s’ review copy, constantly declaring “It’s the new WhoMadeWho – do not copy, do not share” – well, it’s a really, really bad idea. I don’t know whether you’re reading or not, Gomma Records, but this is the wrong method of combating internet piracy. Why? Because this album has still been downloaded in its masses and those who hear it, their listen will be stained by the French interruptions and I promise you this: it will have decreased the chances of ‘The Plot’ actually being bought. As a reviewer, it’s difficult to see through the butt-ins, noticeably more inappropriately-timed as the record progresses. But patience and good will helps you discover that there’s more to ‘The Plot’ than a jump on the synth-pop bandwagon.

A groove that so many modern day band that you can apply to the now popular genre of the noughties, formerly of the eighties, miss out on, is used to its fullest by WhoMadeWho. This swagger sees through any petty distractions and gives a traditionally anonymous sound an identity. Whilst a large part of the record wouldn’t hit the top of the charts anywhere around these shores, the alternative approach to writing pop songs should go down well. The title-track, the frighteningly Queen of the Stone Age-esque ‘The Train’ and the more light-on-it’s-toes ‘Trickster’ all carry something extra in comparison to a less than enticing opener of ‘TV Friend’ and the instrumental outings on the record. There’s more of an approachability factor that comes with the groove and dance-inducing feel to things.

And so there are moments of glimmer to be found amongst the generic majority. But this filler should be in the minority and therefore by the end, ‘The Plot’ comes off as something lazy, poorly-thought out, just like the idea to include that dreaded voice. ‘Raveo’, an instrumental dance number, is the most tedious inclusion on the record – so devoid of anything interesting that it acts as a bouncer, preventing you from reaching that final track. But once you get there, ‘Working After Midnight’ doesn’t give you your reward. So drenched in an electro façade is this record, that even with a fondness of their more impressive debut, you question just who WhoMadeWho really are. Some bands master the art of instrumental tracks but WhoMadeWho have (excuse the pun,) lost ‘The Plot’.

You can draw comparisons between the woman and the album itself. Her voice is occasionally dabbled with, given a beat of sorts; probably to distract you from the fact that’s it’s nothing more than a threat. And ‘The Plot’ performs the same trick, covering itself from head-to-toe in a deep, electronic sound, hoping so much that you’ll ignore the fact that the record’s makers have hit a low in song-writing.