The Glands' first album, Double Thriller, is a thrilling, odd, and satisfying slice of thoughtful indie rock that heralded the arrival of a major talent, the band's driving force Ross Shapiro. He and drummer Joe Rowe had free access to an Athens, Georgia studio after hours and they made the most of it, inviting friends to play on the tracks and spending a long time mixing the results to get the sound to match Shapiro's vision. The record plays less like a cohesive musical statement and more like a greatest hits or singles collection. Shapiro had an expansive set of influences and the skill to follow them wherever they led and make something magical happen. Most of the record sticks pretty close to the indie rock mainstream of the late '90s, with chunks of Pavement's shaggy shamble, Yo La Tengo's rigor, and some of the freaky psychedelic spirit of the Flaming Lips all jumbled up in there. Some of the oddball anything-goes style of the Elephant 6 scene, too. Shapiro's genius is taking these familiar sounds and making them sound new; in the process showing everyone else the right way to do an indie rock ballad (the brilliantly relaxed "Pretty Merina"), a rambling lo-fi rock anthem ("Welcome to NJ"), or a jumpy power pop update ("This Is the Coast"). The songs are driven by Shapiro's note-perfect rock & roll singing style that feed emotions like they were candy to the slow songs and jumps out of the speakers on the fast ones. The in between songs are well-served by his disaffected, personable ramble too. As weird as the songs get -- and they stray from the yelping punk of "Grey Hats" to the sparkling country folk of "Call Me Doctor" with stops at loose-limbed funk ("Two Dollar Wine") and what sounds like an outtake from Big Star's Third ("The Virgin Loses Again") -- Shapiro's voice and his way with a sneaky, sideways hook always keep the record grounded. Double Thriller is the best kind of debut. It stakes a claim on the listener's attention right away while also giving them hope of making more great music to follow.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo