Gliss
Devotion Implosion
Rating: 3.5
Label: Cordless Recordings
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Is your faith in Yeah Yeah Yeahs dwindling with their repeated dives into the mainstream? Does Jimmy Chamberlain’s exodus from Smashing Pumpkins leave a hole in your heart (like it did mine)? Well, hipsters and indie-snobs rejoice! Gliss is back to seduce us Yanks the way they have already done overseas with their first LP, Love the Virgins.
The L.A. trio made up of Martin Kligman, David Reiss and Victoria Cecilia was once a foursome minus the aforementioned Cecilia. Quickly, the decision was made to trim some fat and make a new acquisition; the resulting Devotion Implosion is a strangely sexy, complex and exciting achievement. Gliss uses a simplistic mix of hazy synths, brash guitars and charging drums to their advantage, creating a dreamy ambiance that floats high above their more publicized contemporaries. Atmosphere is Implosion’s secret weapon here, but upon repeated listens the secret reveals itself layer by layer. Cecilia’s druggy, somber vocals paired with Kligman’s pensive lyrics set a tone of intentional mystery that keeps listeners hanging on with just enough to get them to the next track.
Gliss enjoyed early success touring with bands such as We Are Scientists, Silversun Pickups and the newly bite-size Smashing Pumpkins. Gliss’ relationship with the Pumpkins runs pretty deep. The noise-rockers followed Corgan’s troupe on their 2007 reunion tour after covering “Rhinoceros” for SPIN & MySpace’s 2007 SP tribute album. Their friendship gives back a little on Implosion, as the opening verse of “Sleep” channels a drowsy “Cherub Rock.” Gliss’ latest not only echoes the Pumpkins but also indie old-schoolers Sonic Youth, with a subdued synthesized-noise aesthetic that runs throughout. The album’s opener, “Morning Light,” has awesome potential to become an indie dance hit, with a wonderfully effortless melody and sleepy vocals. The album swings right into the Shiny Toy Guns-esque “29 Acts of Love,” an upbeat affirmation in which a young man attempts to come to terms with the repetitiveness of picking up one-night stands on the dance floor. The tune exemplifies the trio at their club-jam best with jangling keyboards and plucky guitars.
After the first two songs, Gliss seems to jump in the deep end looking for that audience Robert Smith is losing slowly and surely, and they’re doing a fantastic job. “Lovers in the Bathroom” is a deeply atmospheric song, setting its tone and mood within the first seconds, slightly evoking that stalagmite-ridden cave Smith and his cronies skulked around in the “Love Song” video. The album does make an attempt to rock out one more time, but sadly falls flat with the seemingly misplaced “Sad Eyes.” Maybe the tune would have worked better at an earlier point in the album’s tracklist, but positioned amongst the beautiful sulk and sorrow of the last three-fourths of the album, it finds no home.
Gliss is most definitely a band to watch and to continue watching. Their goal isn’t to reinvent the genre, but to infuse it. The fact that they know and understand this makes them such an intelligent force among other upstarts. Devotion Implosion is a calculated teaser album for a band sitting across the table with all the right cards in their hands.
by Cameron Mason
