Review: Glen - Crack

Glen are a band out of Berlin - formed in 2015, they create "a synthesis of contrasting textures with different references to No Wave NY, Free Improv, Noise, Doom, Postrock as well as Cinematic Scores" ...well, that all sounds right up my boulevard. 'Crack' is their first album, available via Falling Elevators, and is a cracking album (sorry, no pun intended!). The band are multi instrumentalist and film score composer Wilhelm Stegmeier and Greek visual artist, film maker and musician Eleni Ampelakiotou along with Benita Koschig and Mario Stahn. What they have created between them is an album of eccentricity and verve but all built on a solid base of musicality and an obvious love, and knowledge, of music.

first track 'Hit' opens with the rise and fall of a guitar and the shimmering of cymbals which create between them a real atmosphere of dread and foreboding. Flourishes of electronica, like otherwordly voices, sit alongside stabs of bass. When the guitar spreads its wings it does so in a mournful, plaintive manner but rich in tone and texture, The sporadic rhythm initially prevents things from settling into anything like a linear narrative but when some semblance of narrative is found it becomes a wonderful thing indeed. There is a real cinematic quality to it but the excellent guitar work stops it from tipping over into full avant garde movie score territory and it remains firmly in the psychedelic post rock area. It doesn't take long, however, from the track to fall apart again, breaking down into its separate components and it all becomes gloriously dissonant once more. The last four minutes or so fly by in a flurry of groove laden post rock. By the track reaches the end of its 13 minute length I'm well and truly sold on this album. 'Go Boy' takes that groove and runs with it, this time accompanied by a lovely motorik rhythm. The krautrock leanings is exacerbated by the very CAN-like vocals.....wonderful stuff...but already I've sussed not to take these fellows on face value. The groove and flow is broken by the heavy hum of static and some heavy stabs of bass and fuzz and entropy appears to take over - things fall into chaotic disarray until the original form is somehow reinstated. 'Crack' sees the band come over all New York No-Wave...it is all sharp edges, unpredictable signatures and obscure spoken word vocals. These guys can obviously turn their collective hand to anything and make it work. 'D' is the longest track at over 16 minutes. After the glorious drone of the introduction a guitar traces filigree lines over more shimmering cymbals and it all sounds beautifully pastoral...but having heard what has preceded you expect the unexpected, just waiting for that twist in the tail. The twist is...there is no twist. The track blooms into a wonderful post rock number and maintains a stately grandeur until the very end. The album is closed by 'Discotheque' which ostensibly sits in the post-rock camp but the noir vocals add a dark edge and more than a touch of noise rock that lifts this above the rank and file and into 'brilliant' territory. As the track wends its way to its conclusions it all becomes a bit weird...the music remains but way back in the background and some manic spoken word vocals disorientates the listener as if it were outside of the music, like a hideous thing looking over your shoulder. Thankfully, 'normality' is resumed and the track is seen out with some fantastic guitar and more groove.

'Crack' is a real breath of fresh air...it is an album of infinite variety and many surprises; one which keeps the listener on the edge at all times, veering off course into different directions and sometimes doing the exact opposite of what the listener expects. It is all done with a wry grin on its face, not quite mocking us but certainly aware that we are going to be sent on a whole different trajectory with each passing moment. This is a little gem of an album! It is available on vinyl and as download, both can be purchased via the Band's Bandcamp page here.