Glasvegas

In an entertainment business full of faked stance and faux emotion, all of a sudden something REAL has come along. Glasvegas are tough, rough around the edges but ultimately this is the genuinely most affecting releases not just in 2008 but for many years.

Let's be clear about this, 'Glasvegas' aren't romanticised 'loser' jangle from the bedroom of a semi-detached, this is raw anguish, the sound of souls being shreaded by the dismal reality of life on the streets of the East End of Glasgow. The album covers such topics as gang violence, disfunctional families and perhaps most of all the utter desperation of the poverty trap and the yearning for a better life.

If all this sounds a little dreary, like a Ken Loach film set to music, then it is most definitely not. Glasvegas takes you through the spectrum of human emotions and back again.

Heart breaking music if ever there was.

Tidal wave of hype blah blah ******* blah.

Was the hype justified? Well that depends on what you mean by 'hype' - if a record company signs a new band they like, then they will always try to sell them - that's their job. In that respect hype is always justified.

Whether the band lives up to the hype is another matter. I was going to buy this on day of release but didn't - the hype was too far above the plimsol line.

So I waited a couple of months, still interested to hear it:

Thematically Glasvegas is a very heavy LP - it's got the kind of full-on unflinching 'rock and roll - deal with it' vibe that Unknown Pleasures had. This pretty much makes it the diameter opposite of bands like Coldplay, whose discontent seems to stem from paradise syndrome and misplaced earnestness.

Trackwise I'd have to say there's nothing here that is less than very good, with occasional bits of brilliance - my fave track being S.A.D. Light. A proper anthem for anyone who lives north of Kent.

Glasvegas were on a fine line with this LP - at times they get dangerously close to greeting sentimentality territory but somehow the deftness of the lyrics and the understated musicianship pull it back from the edge.

The problem with hype is that it doesn't convey the scope of a record. And the hype (true to form) doesn't really give an idea of how remarkable this release is. And it's not perfect, although if I ever heard a perfect record it would probably be by idiots and only merit one star.

the music, the lyrics, the guitars, the drums, the voice!! everything about this album is MEGA!! buy it!!!

I caught "Daddy's Gone" on the radio back in August. I don't listen to Radio 1 any more but I was in a friend's car and this just stood head and shoulders above anything else was hearing on the station. I just had to have it.

Listening from the start I thought this was probably the perfect alnum. Unfortuantely a couple of tracks (Stabbed and Ice Cream Van)at the end of the album lost their way. However this couldn't be anything other than a 5 star review as the preceding tracks are just outstanding.

Having been a Pete Wylie/Wah fan for years I didn't expect anything to surpass his "wall of sound" on Story of the Blues. Sorry Pete this does it for me.

Please don't think I'm inferring that Glasvegas have copied the sound. They stand on their own.

Can I pre-order their second album now!!

Like many I heard the plaintive Daddy's Gone last year and was moved by it's emotional punch and deft songwriting. Further investigations confirmed that Glasvegas have a number of exceptional songs which really move the listeners. Obvious references are the Jesus and Mary Chain and Phil Spector and they are mined for their full potential but this album is much braver than just Ronettes imitation for a number of reasons: 1. A number of the tracks feature long ambient sequences which build slowly and demand something of the listener before breaking out into the poppier side of the band - in fact the first couple of minutes of the album are an example! 2. James's decision to keep the raw Weejie brogue may have won him some fans in Scotland but could have lost some in other places - I think it's spot on and gives the work a more sincere feel. 3. Finally, the material is nothing less than challenging [Social Work, Depression, Casual Violence] but at the same time greatly uplifting. I'm told that they signed their current deal with the proviso that the second album would be a full-fledge Christmas album - what an album that is going to be! Phil Spector look out... All in all a powerful debut and well-worth buying - love, Neil