Music For Robots

September 28, 2004 | Posted by Blair at 9:28 PM

Cheers cheers!

"Love Town" and "Straight Down" by The Glands -- These guys hail from the Georgia indie music circuit - the scene known for the start of R.E.M. and the B-52's - the Glands aim not for plain college rock or wacked-out party rock, but a darker, laid-back, brit-pop style that doesn't cross the line of dismal or brooding. Members include Ross Shapiro (vocals + guitar, an Athens visual artist), Joe Rowe (drums, been in bands since dropping out of U of Georgia marching band in 1988), Craig McQuiston (bass, in touring bands since recording for seminal Dischord at age 16) and Doug Stanley (keyboards, he played with, among others, Rick Springfield (yes seriously, Rick Springfield)).

Their self-titled second album, which arrived in 2000, is available on Velocette (check their awesome site design!) - these songs definitely hold a bit of nice multi-part harmonizing, a-la Beach Boys, plus there's the ringing tone of 70s FM-radio. There's a noticeable singer-songwriter bent to it, which is kind of nice, and I think I hear a bit of some freak-rock contemporaries like Beck and Flaming Lips in there too... I actually found this on a sampler CD I hadn't listened to for ages and when I put it on, it seemed like the right thing for tonight - I have been
having a hell of a time at work lately, plus add to it walking home in the rain without an umbrella (cue the string section... there's nary a dry eye in the house...) - Anyway, my mood was foul when I got home, and this seemed to improve it some. You can buy their cds from Insound.

Comments

What a great surprise to see my hometown champions on your blog. One of the best records ever to come out of Athens, period. If you ever get the chance to see them live, DON'T MISS IT!!! Also check out Craig's other great band, The Tom Collins, for a more Zep-inspired representation (I promise there are no lyrics about elves) of the ATH/ATL rock scene. Their wonderfully talented drummer, Kyle Spence, just finished touring with J. Mascis and The Fog.

Posted by: Athensmusicman at September 28, 2004 11:11 PM

The self-titled Glands album is fantastic. I stumbled onto it sideways through another band (RANA, who does a wicked cover of "Livin' Was Easy" btw) back in 2001 or 2002 & it was a truly worthwhile purchase. Anybody know what's happening with these guys? I thought I saw somewhere that they were still playing together, but I haven't looked into it for a while. It's been a while now, but a follow-up to this album is something I'd certainly look forward to hearing. Great stuff.

Posted by: mr g at September 29, 2004 1:25 AM

my all time favorite band. nice to see them getting some recognition besides me talking endlessly drunk at the bar to anyone who won't listen. i love the glands. they are a lazy lazy bunch though. they just take there time and record and tour when they feel like it. too bad.
new album should be done before 2006... hopefully.

Posted by: spencer at September 29, 2004 11:54 AM

The Glands are still around, Mr. G. Indeed, I saw them open for The Shins here in Atlanta a couple months ago. "Livin' Was Easy" is a great track.

Posted by: M. at September 29, 2004 4:04 PM

wow - i'm really glad to see all these positive comments about these guys - something about their sound just clicked with me, and i'm excited to see that's a common understanding.

Posted by: robot blair at September 29, 2004 6:05 PM

BTW: I just posted another Glands track today, along with that RANA cover of "Livin' Was Easy" over at my blog. Thanks for the Glands reminder blair, I hadn't listened to them in quite a while.

Posted by: mr g at October 1, 2004 9:32 AM

My friend Andy Baker from Athens( you scene people will know him:Servotron, plus much more) turned me on to The Glands after he did some work with them. I really enjoyed the albums. Hope that they will turn out more in the future.

Posted by: Tio at September 18, 2005 8:21 AM

Posted by: Tio at September 18, 2005 8:22 AM