Glass Peaks [unedited] Music Review

Glass Peaks
(Original UMB Review)

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ZsGh2oWN3ogufnBgS0JWp?si=CgAOfPgXSx2OEMyC9msHkg

Imagine a band with the sound of The Howl & The Hum, Only Shadows, and a little Radiohead. Then, imagine Edgar Allan Poe writing songs. Now mix the two together, and what do you get… Glass Peaks of course! Let’s look into these dark masterminds’ collection, spanning all the way back from 2017…W

At around 11 years old Alf (songwriter) learned how to play the piano with future intentions to write his own songs. The piano didn’t prove to be as much help as the guitar with these intentions, which he learned to play a few years later. “My dad then brought home a copy of ‘Hail To The Thief‘ by Radiohead from work and it blew my mind. I think that was when I decided I really wanted to make music”, Alf tells me. Jake (guitarist) was obsessed with BB King and Jimi Hendrix when he first picked up the guitar, but he started and continues to play because of bands like the Arctic Monkeys and the Foals. I unfortunately could not get these questions to Grant (drummer). These two did tell me that they also struggle to write about something that’s either not rememberable or emotional. GP’s fan base are made up of people who connect with their music on a personal level and/or love the boy’s music.

“I started writing a tune at 11.30pm in a friends garden recently because they have this awesome tree that looks like it could be straight off the beach in Malibu, except they live in a freezing, grey part of South East London – I really enjoyed the irony in that imagery.”
Alf

It is extremely hard for me to say which song I like on all levels, so I decided I would answer that question according to the reason each song is my favorite. I will start with the fascinatingly written song and just so happens to be the most recent song, Misery. According to their album teaser on Facebook tells me that the song was influenced by Psycho‘s character Paul Sheldon. These teasers also portray the darkness behind each line written, and the raw emotion driven in each word sung. This is also Alf’s favorite song, “if I’m ever really pissed off about anything in particular, I usually let it all out in the aggression of that track. Playing it live is a nice way to relieve tension!”. Hold Me Closer is my favorite song that reminds me of their influences, the song is like a good mix of the Foals vocals and Radiohead background. This Foals and Radiohead mix is a great combo, and it’s something that Glass Peaks have seem to master (especially in this song). I’m Okay is my first single I heard by GP, and it showed me the intriguing style. It also is a song unlike I ever heard lyrically, exploring the darkness behind discovering who you are (this is not the actual meaning to the song, this is my interpretation). The last song that I will talk about is Speak and Spell, which I appreciate how all ends of the band connect in this song. In most of the songs either it is the vocals slightly overwhelming the background or vice versa, but in this song they both seem to equal each other. This reason is why it is my favorite Glass Peaks song that is now streaming.

What is the most meaningful song you’re either working on or have already released?
Interview Question

“For me personally, it’s a track entitled ‘I Never Really Left’ that we’re currently demoing. I wrote the lyrics in about 20 minutes in my lunch break at work. They just fell out of me. I had so much to say about something really shitty that I was going through at the time and writing that tune was like a source of intense therapy for me. It’s also one of my favourites to play live despite the subject matter being quite upsetting/difficult to sing about sometimes. “
Alf

“It has to be ‘I’m Okay’, it’s such a belter. I and Alf sat on my bed after we went from a 4 piece to a 3 piece and just wrote everything we felt on a bit of paper, and we just tried to be as honest as we could. If you ever see us play that song live, you can hear the emotion in our voices at the end.”
Jake|

The boys are experimenting with electronic ideas for the future which they’re eager to put into their sound, it’s something they want to expand on their rock roots. In other words, they want “to sound as much like Radiohead as we can, without getting caught out” Jake summarizes. They are planning to release more music then they did last year, which was due to improving their live performances. Jake aims to get 5 tracks out this year, and this includes the release of Misery.

I would like to thank Alf and Jake for taking their time to answer these questions, their answers were awesome. I would like to thank the boys for remaining awesome, and I am extremely excited to see what tracks are coming in the future! Now go listen to their music and like them on Facebook!!