GLORIE

Glorie are an American instrumental rock group who are listed here under Crossover Prog but on this album they sound very post-rock, specifically they sound heavily influenced by the Chicago band Tortoise. But they are not a clone and most of the resemblance comes from both groups heavy use of mallet/tuned percussion like vibraphones. There are no vocals in sight but rather, in addition to the guitars and drums, we get some piano as well as some cello and violins. Most of the music on this album is in the same style: mid-paced moody instrumental rock. Good for an album but I don't think they could make a whole career out of sounding like this.

"Music For A Horror Movie" does not really sound like horror movie music but is still one of the standout tracks here. Gets symphonic sounding towards the end. "Water Drops" features some great mournful and moody piano playing. This song contains a nice build- up. "Nightmares Then Sunshine" is one of the better tracks on the album and is slightly more upbeat and 'sunny' than the rest of the tracks. Last song "Gunshot City" probably has the best and most interesting use of vibraphone on this self-titled release. This song is slightly more melodic than the others. A good choice for song to end the album. The whole album is fairly consistent, but that also happens to be one of it's weaknesses; no one track really seems to stand out.

This album would appeal to fans of modern instrumental based Post-Rock and those who don't mind some vibes in their rock (Zappa and Gong fans, etc). On their next album it would be nice if there was a little more variety. This is as I said consistent and enjoyable but tends to stay in one place too long. There are a lot worse debut albums out there and I think this is a 'pay what you want' deal (but don't quote me on that!), so it's worth checking out. I will give this a 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.