Released through Cordless Records on 19.10.09

Two parts American and one part Danish. No this isn't some intercontinental selection at a hotel breakfast buffet, but Los Angeles based three piece Gliss and their latest single, 'Beauty'.  Before that, have a look at the image above and guess which one is Danish... yes you're stereotypical views of Scandinavians are correct. Blonde bassist Victoria Cecilla was born in Copenhagen.

The introductory melody - repeated throughout - lives up to the name of the track in that it's beautiful to listen to, especially for those in a more reflective mood. 'Beauty' wouldn't sound out of place towards the end of a teen romantic comedy - you know, the scene where everything has gone wrong and everyone is depressed but you just know that everything will be pleasantly resolved by the end of the film. The song does carry the appropriate themes of love and loss after all.

Back to 'Beauty', and vocalist Martin Klingman has a nice voice which fits well with the melodies and the theme of the track. It would be fair to say these vocals have an element of The Thrills circa 2003 to them but it's unlikely to be an influence. (Whatever happened to those guys anyway?) The overall sound of Gliss however is quite different to this.

Victoria's bass line in this track is pretty simple but it's steady and holds the rest of band together steadily - what more could you want from a bass player? This distorted guitars sound good and the sound is refreshingly dreamy. The melodies don't jump out at the listener, quite the opposite in fact they are very relaxed. The only issue with .Beauty. is that occasionally the vocals can be lost against the sound of the guitars, but with a track like this it really is the instruments that do the talking.



If this is a sign of what Gliss can do there are good things to come from this American/European outfit and next months album Devolution Implosion will be something to look forward to.

Posted In Singles, Oct 08 2009. Words - Danny