glass beach – “rare animal”

As universe builders between the worlds of emo, indie rock, punk, hardcore, jazz, prog, and genres not yet even given names yet in the stars, glass beach are a superorganism whose evolution will only continue as they approach their long-awaited second album, plastic death. “rare animal”, its latest preview, is a curious juxtaposition to all of that, however, in the way the Los Angeles of fronthuman J.C. McClendon, lead guitarist Layne Smith, bassist Jonas Newhouse, drummer William White converge into shapes familiar before taking off again. The scene’s most wholesome vibes carry through in the listen’s opening moments where delicate indie-emo guitars and a warm glow of nightlight keys further emboss the outlines of McClendon’s lookback lyrics of back porch fireflies in mid-July. It’s that tectonic shift afterward where it’s as if a volcano erupts the core of it all. Instruments are spilling all over and destinations become fraught. “Tomorrow was all smoke and mirrors,” they exclaim. What was the past? Where is the future headed? glass beach are an organism living outside and inside all of that at once…

glass beach’s plastic death will be released January 19th on Run for Cover Records.