I bought this on a CD when I was visiting London just a couple of months before I moved here in 2011. It was waiting for me when I arrived the next January. In that sense, it was one of the first albums I had in London (I didn't bring my record collection with me when I moved). The album is thus heavily linked to the early times here in London. I have to say that I haven't listened to it in years now, since this kind of carefully produced stadium rock doesn't appeal to me as much anymore, but now that I'm listening to it, this actually sounds pretty good.
I really like the album cover. It reminds me of the new Bladerunner film. The futuristic imagery fits really well with the music. When I'm looking at the cover, I'm also thinking that the man standing there seems somehow alienated from the real world and despite having so many people around him in a big city, he feels alone. This is one of the storylines that illustrate the modern society in much of fiction nowadays.
The album starts with ambient synths with French spoken-word mantra running on it in the song Pain Pain Never Again, which is really just an intro to the album. The album kickstarts properly in the song The World Is Yours that brings out the familiar Glasvegas sounds including disco drumming, space-age synths and amazingly emotional Scottish vocals. I love how he's pronouncing the word 'world' with the 'r' really strong. You kicks the guitar walls even higher. The vocals have been muffled by some kind of vocoder, but not in an annoying way. There's great explosive power in the song. Shine Like Stars shows what's new with this album. Almost the whole background is made of electronic samples, synths and guitar effects. This doesn't matter though, because this kind of space rock actually really works. Whatever Hurts You Through the Night is the first ballad on the album and ballads, I think, are what Glasvegas makes best. The slow tempo leaves room for the vocals and you can focus on each note and find the power in each of them. Stronger Than Dirt (Homosexuality, Pt. 2) is one of those growing songs that seem to just get more power throughout the song even though, in reality, it stays in the same intensity pretty much through the whole song. Dream Dream Dreaming continues similar kind of melodramatic power space rock, but the thing I like about this song is the quiet chorus that gives a nice slope in midst of all the volume. I Feel Wrong (Homosexuality, Pt. 1) sounds like a very personal and intimate song, but I feel like it would be more powerful with a little bit less in the background. Euphoria, Take My Hand is the clearest hit song on the album. This is the kind of powerful indie rock anthem that would've made me shiver all over on the dance floor 15 years ago. There's a great sense of drama in the song and it keeps growing even further from already loud beginning. Lots Sometimes loops the same words over and over again, but there's power in the chiming guitars and growing intensity. The album ends with quiet and quite strange song Change. This song has the most powerful vocals on the album precisely because they have less physical power on them than on the rest of the album which makes you really listen to them. The female spoken word sequence in a strong Scottish accent is pure bliss.
I saw Glasvegas live on the tour of this album, still in Helsinki. The gig was a positive surprise. I wasn't expecting anything amazing from the gig, but they were really amazing. I remember the neon colour microphone cord and a drummer who was playing the drums standing up. Even though the venue was the horrible Circus, the gig was really good.
The music video for Euphoria, Take My Hand starts in a huge megacity somewhere in Asia, probably Tokyo. There's a woman who's lying in her small apartment high in the sky and she's watching an old school television set with Glasvegas playing the song. There's also a man in an armchair watching videos of beautiful landscapes and a man on the beach, looking lost. I don't know if I understand the backstory that well, but it seems like both the woman and the man are lonely in a big city. There are some flashes of social media in the mix and in the end the old man gets emotional and somehow connects the woman and the man and they end up holding hands next to a giant screen.
As I already said, I have been really alienated from this kind of carefully produced stadium rock for some years now, which means that I haven't even thought about listening to Glasvegas in a while. But now I'm actually enjoying this album quite a lot, so I should maybe try and give some time for this kind of music as well.
Listen to the album on Spotify.
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