Glint was conceived by Jase Blankfort (NYC) and Mateus Tebaldi (Brazil) in New York City. This self-titled EP sees them issuing an electro-rock amalgam of Kraftwerk-meets-Muse, unfinished symphonies, taunted by paranoid guitar flex and forlorn lyrical passages. The epic "Kernel Panic", a graphically rich maelstrom of orchestral strings, percussive post-rock poise and vocal intrepidity, continually peaks and troughs as the opener, breaking down for a total of four, jolting your apex upward and downward like a see-saw.
The casual stroll / dilligent sprint meshing of (mislabeled) "Freak" squeezes oil from the painting as Mogwai encapsulated in a perpetual motion machine, Blankfort whining like an alchoholic, at odds with himself, over driving percussion, and rope-swing guitar.
The output appears tinted by asymmetrical structures that are once lopsided as they are angular, blending like rice with curry sauce. It's this spicy homogenity that populates the entireity of the EP, the poppier "Hold Still" exiting a dust-blown compartment to crash down with force on the listener, the rippling analogue, arpeggiated synth arching like a rainbow bridge from the underbelly of the procession.
Lyrically there's much to scratch beards over, particularly "I've tried this times before / I can't wait / Counting the steps I take / The hearts I break / I'm counting mistakes I make, the lies I fake / I'm willing to change my ways, take me away".
"Friends" rises from a pool of Detroit Techno glue to supplant a weighty cheerleader-wave of automated guitar persistence, searing like a lengthy burn. "Damaged Goods" which follows it, is hook, line and sinker to the record's mission statement: to prove "my love is true". There's strong backing to Blankfort's gruff deliveries, pauses for breath, with a machine-gun grunt propelling the longing onward.
If there's one thing that's lacking from this EP, it's that the barriers to enlightenment are blocked by a tendency to be oppressive. "Sound In Silence", their 2008 LP, proved they have the scope to implement lighter textures instead of a doom-engulfed emotive smog. I have a feeling that if Glint can capitalise on this fact and sow sweetness in the lining, on the same release, they will be onto something very special indeed. As it is, they don't require to trade old ideas for innovative ones; just a gentle glance at the world wouldn't go amiss.
Purchase: "Sound In Silence" and Self-titled EP
Glint: MySpace
Glint: blog
Well done review, enjoyed! = )
ReplyDeleteAnd love this album.