2010 September Archive - The Recommender

THE RECOMMENDER – GLASSER

All budding artists could take a note from Glasser – if you’re going to make music and you find yourself getting to the stage where you’re signed and recording material, please aim for the stars and don’t stop until you reach them. If you don’t quite manage it then perhaps that retail job isn’t so bad when you re-consider. Not that Glasser, (real name Cameron Mesirow), was ever destined for retail, with a mother that tasted the charts back in the 80s, with the band Human Sexual Response and a father who was a member of the odd-ball stage show Blue Man Group. Following a few brief temptations that have been calling out to us from the mist since mid-2009, with tours supporting the likes of Sigur Ros and The XX, Glasser are now ready to release the debut album, Rings. The music blogs have enjoyed ameliorating that mist ever since, with buzzing plaudits and much online salivation. On board for the album is Matt Popieluch, from Recommender favourites, Foreign Born, who are masters of yearning alt folk with a little pop and a little indie found at either edge. We consider that band to be Autumnal and cosy, where as Glasser is the leaf blower, clearing the clutter with synths and strings in place of the acoustic guitars. Much like our recent post on Niki And The Dove, with comparisons to Natasha Kahn and Liz Fraser, you will hear celestial vocals, but Cameron is colder, more like the wintery Fever Ray, or the upcoming IAmAmIWhoAmI. However, the synths never buzz, rather they drift in waves and the melodies are floating in a motionless freeze. Tracks such as Plane Temp will remind you of Enya at her most pointless, with intangible vocals, but it’s still enchanting and just as pretty. Things warm up a little with tracks such as Glad, which sounds like one long pause for thought, or the album opener Apply, which sounds like she drafted in the Doozers on drums. Tremmel oxygenates things once again hitting the kind of vocal notes that would make sirens seem baritone. The whole album fixes a stare upon you from the start and it’s unease never lets up throughout, although this is no ambuscaded attack, for it’s more like receiving a long glance from a strikingly beautiful member of the opposite sex – the kind that disarms you right before their eventual smile warms your heart. Rings is released on the hot indie label True Panther Sounds this week – you can buy it here. Whether or not Glasser makes it to the aforementioned stars that she’s aiming for, one thing is sure, on this evidence, the trip was worth it. (MB)

Find her here: Myspace

Hear her here: GLASSER – APPLY

Hear her here: GLASSER -TREMMEL (JAMIE XX REMIX)

Hear her here: GLASSER – LESSONS LEARNED (YACHT REMIX)

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Published: September 27th, 2010
Author: The Recommender
Category: The Recommender
Tags: Apply, Camron Mesirow, Enya, Glasser, IAmAmIWhoAmI, Jamie XX Remix, Lessons Learned (Yacht Remix), Liz Fraser, Natasha Kahn, Sigur Ros, The XX, Tremmel, True Panter Records

THE RECOMMENDER – FREEDOM OR DEATH

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Bands made up from former employees of the music industry isn’t a particularly new story. Out of all the artists covered on The Recommender it is a trick that’s perhaps impressed us most with We Have Band, formerly of EMI, but here we turn our attention to a new Toronto duo, Freedom Or Death, who called the major label Sony home for over ten years. Those who leave major labels will have had a vital education, giving them crucial insider knowledge and what is perhaps most on show with this new act is a keen refusal to play by the industries rules. It’s as if Steve Fernandez and studio partner Sway are setting themselves up as staunch independents, as seen with their selection of a band name. Freedom Or Death was chosen as a descriptor for their art, so important was their creativity that they’ve sworn to protect its freedom, rather than have the record labels try to kill it off. It ties in well as their name is the rallying call for revolutionaries the world over, from The Suffragette’s Emily Pankhurst to the 19th Century Greeks that the duo claim as inspiration – it’s a story of freeing one’s passions rather than allowing them to be abused. It doesn’t reflect on the industry that well, but it’s also worth pointing out that they remain unsigned – a fact that cannot go ignored, as the real test will come when the industry comes knocking, for that will be a better indication of how much they really value their freedom. Insider knowledge can prove helpful, if not actually powerful, however it’s the music that will open up the most opportunities and we are pleased to confirm that it stands a strong chance on this evidence. The Crowded Room begins with chords reminiscent of Miike Snow‘s Animal and is a tidy example of the smooth synths that breathe throughout their new self-titled EP. In fact all six tracks are packed with the scent of sophistication, with the drifting acoustics played over echoing drums – they even make the abrasive Pink seem symphonic with their cover of Sober. The tracks mirror the likes of Sting or TV On The Radio at their most vulnerable, but although this is ultimately music with the kind of high-end production usually found in genres such as hip hop (Fernandez informed me that they’re both big hip hop junkies), you will notice that the beats are mainly kept in the background. What the tunes lack in a driver they more than make up for with atmosphere and power, particularly with the charming vocals. Stand out track, Lost In Dances, brings in the afro-beat from the start and it places a punch where the voice was focussing, allowing us to completely fall under their spell. You too can get hypnotized by catching them live at New York’s CMJ Festival this October. Don’t be surprised to see the major labels sniffing around as it would take more than a defection to put them off this scent, but one thing is certain – whilst they are free from shackles they’ve produced a consistently impressive set of mellifluous songs, so any label would be a fool to mess with them. (MB)