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

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HEALTH: Get Color

ALBUM REVIEW: HEALTH – Get Color
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for thisisfakediy

The dawning of a new age: the year industrial noise became something sexy. ‘Die Slow’ has something of an anthemic, lights-turned-off feel to it, full of possibilities, letting your imagination roam free. Deep, dark, driven, it’s the pulsing, swaggered hit of ‘Die Slow’ that may make waves, whereas the rest of ‘Get Color’ feels almost like the following of trends. Draw a parallel with Liars’ ‘Drum’s Not Dead’ and you’ve just about had your fun with HEALTH’s latest offering. Though not necessarily: Initially, yes, ‘Get Color’ is tightened and restricted by the urge to sit pretty with fans of previous work, but at the same time, that makes this their most experimental offering yet.

‘Get Color’ isn’t all dark corners and insomnia. ‘Severin’ and ‘We Are Water’ blend Thom Yorke-esque vocals with a grand, 80’s metal guitar line, whilst chaos ensues behind the scenes. Said chaotic noise is an element all tracks on ‘Get Color’ have in common, and it almost feels like a retreat by the band every time it becomes the dominant part of the song, almost as if they’re resting on their laurels and playing it safe. But ultimately you’d feel at rest, comfortable and pretty uninterested by ‘Get Color’ if it weren’t for the break-neck hullabaloo, and that’s completely not how HEALTH want you to react to this record.

It is, by all means, the most consistently twisted collection of music unearthed this year; coherent in its ability to punch holes through your heart, grab your head with intensity and literally plummet you through oblivion without your consent.
Safe, it is not.

For much of the time, you struggle to see through the pretentious song titles. But again, counter this with the fact that ‘Death +’ really does sort of sound like the next step from death and ‘Eat Flesh’ is pretty much self-explanatory. For every potential mis-step by the band that you think you might have stumbled across, you’re required to trace your steps and develop an alternative argument, one that makes ‘Get Color’ all the more convincing as the play counts add up. And alas, if you can’t see past the guts and the gore of this audacious record, you’ll probably still be able to have fantastic sex to ‘Die Slow’.

7.2

mp3: HEALTH – We Are Water

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MASKS

Walls of noise, provocative screeches, an underlying build of driven determination formed over a single, scratchy guitar line. Fuck Buttons with more amps than gadgets, MASKS, from Brighton, are making waves in a mysterious manner.

MASKS MYSPACE

mp3: Forever Dancing

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