From Rochester, New York, comes the alternative rock band that's blending dark pop into their sound and taking the scene by surprise; meet Glasswaves. Since releasing their first single, "Dead Dreams," back in 2023, and a cavalcade of singles and EPs ever since, Glasswaves is finally giving us their debut album!
Glasswaves creates emotionally charged, atmospheric, and melodic music that carries deep meaning and well-crafted lyricism. The production takes their music to the next level, adding more layers to the already full tracks. They found a sound and aesthetic that works well for them and have started to cement a place for themselves in the bigger ranks.
On the 23rd of October, Glasswaves gave us an early Halloween treat by dropping their LP, while(True). This band has had many eyes and ears on them in the last little while alone, and we'd all been wondering when we'd get the debut LP, but now it's clear why it took so long to get one. This album is well-done, and the songs are made to keep you engaged without being too overwhelming or overstimulating.
The vocals are great, from the cleans to the harshes. I love that even the cleans are raspier so that there is a smoother transition into harsher, as paradoxical as that can sound. Between that and the instrumentals having a very digitized production style in places, the album is a fun take on the digital core/Myspace core sounds that are coming back around and are big in metalcore right now. They add in elements like skips, what sounds like fan chopping to the words at times, and more that keep you searching for what all you can hear and pull from their production.
Some of my favorite songs off the LP are "FALSE_glow:", "<<bye>>," and "Save[face]". Personally, I really felt the theme of "Save[face]" and loved the ending lines "Been dead from the start / And I'll never see the end / I let it tear me apart, Denied the restart / Save face in a new mask," especially as I felt it not only summed up the chorus and verses well, but were also words that I do connect with on a personal level. Honestly, "<<bye>>" is probably my favorite song from an overall theme, lyrics, and production style-wise, as well as the heavier the song, the happier I am almost every time, so that was a banger! I love that they add so many different effects to that song, but none were corny or felt misplaced; they fell right into place with the rest of the song's composition! "<<bye>>" is 100 percent my healing song for the rest of the year!
I love music videos, and Glasswaves really gave us a solid storyline and production with the video for "Swarm.ING_." This video follows the frontman, seemingly positioned in the plot as a medical science patient going through testing on some kind of chip and drug, and by the end it seems what was fighting in his mind made its way out. Honestly, I would love to yap about the music video more, but I don't think I could break this one down in a timely fashion, so make sure you watch it!
Glasswaves is taking us on an adventure with this album. They have crafted the storyline of a pharmaceutical company that is using a med-tech chip and drug called "Neuro Veil" during psychological testing. The doctor who is running the medical study, though, is actually trying to hunt down an entity known as "The Veil," which only appears when one of the tests fails, embodying the subject's deepest desires. The consequences of the entity's appearance are always less than savory, but Glasswaves is taking us with them on the ride.
Photo Credit: Kelly Hough
With the debut album out now, I think we can let Glasswaves have their space among the bands taking off within the scene. I have been excited for this to come out, and they did not let me down. I highly recommend that you all give the album a listen and also give the "Swarm.ING_" video a view!
Till next time!
Meet Glasswaves
Noah Rich – Lead Vocals
Owen Miller – Guitar
Brendan Curtis – Bass
