After releasing the rambunctious and slightly woolly Double Thriller album, Athens, Georgia group
the Glands returned with a sleek, laser-sharp Southern pop record that honed their hooks to a glistening point and unveiled songwriter Ross Shapiro as a major talent. Recorded in a variety of settings, the record has a similarly loose feel to their debut, but there is an added layer of craft added to the production and more care given to the arrangements. Shapiro was known to display characteristics of perfectionism; there's no doubt that lots of painstaking work went into making these songs, and this album is as near to perfect as indie rock can get. It's the kind of record where it's hard to settle on favorite moments or have a favorite song, since everything is so strong and memorable. The uptempo songs have giant choruses and great bounding energy, and dare the listener not to give the occasional whoop of joy; "When I Laugh" has the rollicking soul of
Big Star amped up past ten, "Straight Down" is a heads-down power pop/rocker with iron in its punch, "Work It Out" is ramshackle party rock delivered with a boozy drawl. The midtempo songs have lots of low-key swagger and warm melodies; "Lovetown"'s fun overlapped vocals and nicely layered guitar sound make it sparkle, "Soul Inspiration" aches like a sprained heart, and "Fortress" is a terrific slow-motion rocker that pits Shapiro's tender vocal yelp against some very gritty guitars. Most of the record toggles back and forth between these two flavors with the occasional deviation, like the atmospheric ultra-melancholy ballad "Mayflower" or "I Can See My House from Here," which takes a left turn into strutting funky soul territory. It's kinda weird, but it works. Shapiro's lyrics can be odd at times too, but they work. Basically everything on The Glands works like the proverbial charm. The band's balancing act between shrugging rockers and shattered balladeers is thrilling to hear, Shapiro's persona is never less than captivating, and at least two of the songs (so much for not listing favorites) rate among the best songs of the young decade. The album's opener, "Livin' Was Easy," is a life-affirming slacker jam that comes off like a unholy mix of
Pavement and a drunk Southern boogie band and "Swim" is a bouncing piano-led track that comes complete with swooning strings, falsetto backing vocals, a heartstopping bassline, and the album's lightest melody. Even if the album was these two songs and a bunch of filler, it would rate highly. Add in another 12 songs (or 17 depending on the version of the record) that don't trail by much and it's time to start talking about classic status. ~ Tim Sendra