Album review: Glitterer – Life Is Not A Lesson
Glitterer’s second album is full of promise, but only fulfils about half of it...
The members of Title Fight have always had a number of strings to their musical bows. Not only has that manifested itself in the way the currently dormant band’s sound shifted over the years from hardcore(ish) punk to a more subtle sort of shoegazey rock, but also in the various other projects the band’s members are involved in. The most recently-formed of those is Ned Russin’s solo outfit Glitterer, in which the Title Fight bassist/co-vocalist infuses both ends of his other band’s spectrum with an added electronic flair.
Life Is Not A Lesson is the second Glitterer full-length and consists of 12 short songs that experiment with those dynamics to various degrees. Eight of those songs are under two minutes and of the other four, the longest is just two minutes 31 seconds, giving this album a total running time of under 22 minutes. Somehow, though, it manages to feel a lot longer.
Take, for instance, Try Harder Still and Little Backwards Glance. The third and fourth tracks on the album: the latter is a kind of reprise of the former, but one that doesn’t really add anything. Similarly, the abrasive melody of the self-effacing How A Song Should Go falls flat when it comes to fulfilling its title, while the pulsating, chugging electronic beat of The End sounds like a less compelling version of electro-punks The Faint.
There are good moments to be had, though, particularly on the post-punky strains of Are You Sure?. Elsewhere, Birdsong is a sweet but too-short instrumental, while the final two songs, Fire and the title track are both promising, although you wish they went further, and that Ned's vocals had more in the way of variation. Not perfect, but for those who can get into it, this is a decent distraction.
Verdict: 3/5
For Fans Of: Title Fight, Joyce Manor, City And Colour
Glitterer's new album Life Is Not A Lesson is out now via ANTI- and is available to buy, stream and download.