Glo-Fi is all the rage in the hip indie circles of late. Hazy, nostalgia drenched & easy pleasy – it’s a genre that invites plenty of criticism and outside a handful of acts, that criticism (half-assed, insipid, too safe) is well founded. Glo-fi is shaping up to be the late 00/early 10′s answer (bastard child?) to the Loggins & Messina spearheaded Yaht Rock sound of the 70′s.
That being said there are a few acts working on the edges of the genre that are turning out interesting sounds. One i’ve been keeping my eyes on has been Australia’s “Witch House” scene, acts like OOoOooo, Salem, and ///▲▲▲\\\ combine a much lighter touch of that AM radio vibe, but blur and stretch it in their creepy funhouse mirrors, adding layers of heavy distortion, church organs, garbled vocals, echo and delay, ending up at the end with something in my opinion, much more interesting, and while still detached and sedated, managing to be so much more creative, edgy and engaging.
Outside of even this left field genre, exists Tonstartssbandht. Don’t even ask me how to pronounce it. Not even technically related to glo-fi or witch house, this one man (maybe more?) show located somewhere between Montreal & NYC, seems to be aware of what’s going on in contemporary music culture and then actively subverting it. I heard his most recent EP while looking for for used vinyl at Montreal’s Cheap Thrills. Not for everyone, Tonstartssbandht seems to revel in obscuring its own brilliant pop hooks. Heavy heavy blown out drums and grinding guitars matched up to shrieking and yelping guy/girl vocals thrash and threaten to completely disintegrate the tracks (not to mention your headphones) but once you’ve got over the initial shock value, it’s the pop hooks that will keep you coming back to listen and relisten. These songs are nerviously anthemic in a way that will having you trying to dig up the lyrics so you can shout along at the top of you lungs.
If you’re into glo-fi, if you’re into music that challenges, and then rewards, check this guy out his most recent EP is available for free download.
