Austinist Album Capsules: Glös and Other Men

Glös - Harmonium
Modern technology is moving at a rate faster than some can handle, while others utilize new possibilities to its potential as best they can. Glös started when Keeley Davis and Cornbread Compton of Engine Down traded music files via laptops with each other, experimenting with a new style of independent songwriting leading to eventual co-ordination through the file transfers. Davis’ sister, Maura (formerly of Denali), was also included in the process, and the result is their first full-length, Harmonium. “Public Speaker” and “Entre” are two stand-outs in a series of well crafted pop tracks with a fair share of ethereal backdrops. The sibling vocal combination of the Davis’ layered upon tightly-knit melodies and assorted instrumentation provides for a largely enjoyable, if not extraordinary listening experience. As Keeley Davis himself puts it, “Our longtime relationship with Lovitt Records allowed a sister, brother, and dear friend from opposite corners of the country, to create a record without boundaries via independent creativity and the internet.” Nice!!

Glös: [myspace]

Other Men - Wake Up Swimming
The world recently lost its hardest working man in show business with the passing of the legendary James Brown. Rob Crow could well be on his way to that mantle (with due respect to Ryan Adams and Conor Oberst), with maybe indie-rock replacing show business in the title. The prolific Californian has been releasing pop gems in various forms, be it Pinback or his very recent solo offering, Living Well. Now, he has re-united members of a former project, Heavy Vegetable, that bloomed in the 90’s. Travis Nelson and Manuel Turner join Crow as Other Men, with their debut release out now on, yes, Crow’s label, Robcore Records. Wake Up Swimming continues with Crow’s tradition of melodious, fractured, start-stop pop-rock. Plenty of inventive and innovative guitar strumming make for a concise and articulate album that flows freely despite numerous tempo changes, but the overall feel does tend to get a tad repetitive at times. Still, Crow has already proved himself a genius to us, and we bow to all the majority of his output.

Other Men: [myspace]