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Album: Glorious: s/t
Street Date: August 10, 2004
Length: 53:15
Rating: 
Reviewed by: Kevin
Buy it: Amazon.com
Glorious is a band making its way up from the Seattle indie music scene. The vocals by Geoff Stanfield are somewhere between Richard Patrick of Filter and Ed Kowalczyk from Live. The music on most tracks are alt/pop/rock radio gold, and yet very rhythmic and experimental on others with what feels like what you might expect from a Radiohead album. The lead guitarist is Amy Stolzenbach, who was the founder of the band Hell's Bells, an all female AC/DC tribute band that have been part of the Northwest music scene for quite some time. But now the 4 members of Glorious have come together to create a sound that is incredible.
1. Suddenly - The album starts off with a great guitar riff leading into a straight forward rock track, but the moment the vocals kick in, I'm left wondering does this really match? But yes, they do. As the song gets going it's easy to see why they opened the album this way. Call it an attention grabber that will keep you moving right through the rest of the album.
2. California - Why isn't this song on The O.C. soundtrack? California is not just the song title, but the whole feel of the song draws from the Cali vibe. Everything about "California" comes together perfectly.
3. Mansion of Cards - I can feel Filter in here. Amy pulls off a beautiful guitar solo that awakens the track in a whole new way.
4. Spit and a Handshake - "You burn like cinnamon on my skin." It's hard to know what to make of it. When it breaks down to a Radiohead type bridge then kicks right back into the rock. It's something you wouldn't expect from the song but that's what makes it good.
5. Something More - The rock is brought down several notches for this ballad. "And I won't stand to be alone anymore, looking for something more." It's quite beautifully done, and more importantly shows the range of the band.
6. Long Beach - This is another slower song, but up one notch from "Something More". There's some sounds and techniques used on here that are subtle yet unique enough to make the track one of the highlights on the album.
7. Comfort Farm - I really liked what I heard of the lyrics till he used the line "pig in a blanket" which just should not be used in a song, ever. But honestly there is a lot about this track that I liked.
8. Thought of a Trainwreck - There is a very dark mood to this song. Brought forth not only from the lyrics but also from the whaling guitar, which is incredible.
9. Crown of Thorns - "Everything I do, I do for you and you're nowhere. And I wear this crown of thorns and bleed, happiness again." Although I found it fascinating lyrically, the music behind the song was nothing we havn't heard before. It doesn't show much range, it just fits nicely into the genre.
10. All Over You - Everything about this song is done perfectly. It's good lyrically, the hook is catchy, the music is well done. It's short, sweet, and radio friendly (if they ever choose it as a single).
11. Stereo - The song is pretty slow and sober through most of it but the bridge at the end kicks it up a notch but feels way too repetitive towards the end. It may very well be what they were going for, I just didn't think it came out as well as it could have.
12. 20 Million - "Sometimes I feel like 20 millions dollars, but not today." It's not the best song on the album, but I was amused by the lyric. The album wraps on quite a downer. He's listening to the voices in his head. For better or for worse, we'll have to wait for the next album to find out how it turns out.
There were no lyrics in the liner or anywhere on the site which made it difficult to judge the strength of the lyrics on some songs. So there was some places you are left wondering what he said or why he said it.
To the average listener Geoff's vocals may take some getting used to, however he does a fantastic job throughout the entire album. I must give credit to Amy's skillful guitar work on the album. The music used on most of the album was the real highlight for me.
For more information see: www.gloriousband.com
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