ARTiST: Gavin Glass And The Holy Shakers
ALBUM: Gavin Glass And The Holy Shakers
BiTRATE: 165kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Orphan Records
GENRE: Rock
SiZE: 74.58 megs
PLAYTiME: 1h 05min 58sec total
RiP DATE: 2007-10-13
STORE DATE: 2007-10-15
Track List:
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01. Underneath The Stars 3:40
02. Older Than My Years 3:54
03. Ragdoll 4:51
04. The Juxebox Rag 2:38
05. Director's Cut 3:58
06. Southern Comfort 4:34
07. Red Dress 4:10
08. Intention 4:49
09. Sweet Ophelia 3:49
10. Silently Mine 3:29
11. Coming Home 3:55
12. Wrecking Ball 22:11
Release Notes:
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Up in them thar hills of Stillorgan, Gavin Glass has been creating American
roots music that would do his transatlantic neighbours proud. Glass started out
in indie band Suddenly Smyth, and he seems to have gone a damascene
transformation, switching allegience from the fey English indie scene to robust,
country flavoured music. It's a manthle that suits him down to the dirt, and
lends an autgenticity to songs suchs as Older than my years, Director's Cut and
Sweet Ophelia. If Southern Comfort weighs in with The Band circa Big Pink, it's
probably deliberate; if Underneath The Stars sounds like Glass is being backed
by The Street Band, that's because he really did record with Springsteen's cre.
cathy Davey adds fine detail to Ragdoll, while Wrecking Ball ends with a
hellfire sermon from Rev WC Butcher.
(Album Review - Irish Times ****)
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Beneath the country veil and sliding guitars of this second album from Gavin
Glass and the Holy Shakers lies a collection of songs that might just frind
themselves in the upper echelons of top ten lists come December. Stillorgan-born
Glass pours massive depth into his song writing, penning 12 magnificent numbers
that he and the Shakers bring to life with a wide array of tremendous musical
instrumentation.
Terrific horn arrangement complete the country wrapped "Underneath the Stars",
as the opening track sets the tone for a varied and accomplished record. The
Modern Gospel Ensemble contribute soaring harmonies to some of these songs, most
notably the already sparkling "Older than my years". Dizzying banjos and
mandolins dance over a pulsating backbeat on "The Jukebox Rag" while the genre
defying "Red Dress" boasts at one point, a powerful, almost indie-like guitar
riff.
"You never talked much / you never put out much / but I never let that get me
down / Cus you were silently mine" sings Glass on the subtle yet deeply
effective "Silently Mine", yet another remarable track on what is truly a
breathtaking album"
(Hot Press - Album Review)
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Given the current indie-friendly climate in Irish music, Gavin Glass's own brand
of reflective country-folk comes across as a daring statement rather than a
musical throwback. It's perfectly natural that he be so shamelessly down-home
without posing. Although showing his proficiency with a hoedown here, it's in
the moments that things slow down to a folksier pace that his real talent sgines
through. While hardly forcing back the limitations of lyrical meaning, giving
Gavin Glass an airing is like listening to Ryan Adams with better quality
control; and that's seriously a good thing. Kudos to Glass for showing that
there's more than skinny jeans to Dublin's musical output.
For fans of Ryan Adams, Hank Williams, Dan Sartain...
(InDublin - Album of the Week)