Spielbergs, This Is Not The End

[By The Time It Gets Dark, February 1]

Certain bands and records just sound like youth. Not necessarily youthful musicians, but rather the idea of youth, a sort of conceptual sense-memory of adolescence delivered in three-and-a-half-minute bursts of sound. That’s the immediate feeling conveyed by Spielbergs’ debut record, This Is Not The End. For anyone who’s ever fist-pumped to distorted guitars and sing-along refrains, this record captures a joyous anthemic howl, a primal scream of rock ’n’ roll born in the cauldron of ’80s indie-rock immediacy and filtered through the sound of ’90s alt-rock fuzz, with the attendant arena-ready trappings of a thundering rhythm section. (And yes, there’s more than a hint of early Fall Out Boy in the shout-out-loud vocal delivery, but not in a bad way.) The only missteps involve venturing outside that sweet spot, such as the unnecessary acoustic interlude of “Sleeper,” which detract from the pulsing triumph of tracks like opener “Five On It” or “4AM.” It’s a record for driving around, windows down, and not giving a fuck—sure, it can’t last, and it may seem silly later, but in the moment, it’s cathartic as hell. [Alex McLevy]

Cherry Glazerr, Stuffed & Ready

[Secretly Canadian, February 1]

Stuffed & Ready is already the third album by the young L.A. band Cherry Glazerr, a three-piece led by Clementine Creevy, who unfurls themes of feminism and sexuality over layers and layers of guitar-fuzzed pop. She’s not afraid to shock, as in the religious-themed video for the gripping “Wasted Nun” or the startling lyrics to the haunting “Daddi” (“Who should I fuck / Daddi, is it you?”), a ferocious rant against the patriarchy. Glazerr falls into a bit of a repetitive pattern over the course of this new album (playing softly, then building, then raging), but Creevy’s ethereal vocals and angry, shredding guitar lines expertly steer listeners into the depths of her angsty psyche—which is right where she wants you. [Gwen Ihnat]

 
Join the discussion...