Kevin Bronson on April 16th, 2009

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[I’m still woefully in arrears on album reviews, so I’m setting a modest goal of one per day for the near future – there are some guest reviewers on the way, too.]

Gliss, “Devotion Implosion” (Rykodisc/Cordless, April 7) – The L.A. trio’s sophomore effort boomerangs in and out of the shadows – occasionally those cast by the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Raveonettes and sundry shoegazer forebears, and on other occasions the shadows cast by their darkest fears. You can feel the dank corners and bright lights of Los Angeles in their spiraling, distorted guitars and Marty Klingman’s wounded singing; it’s a sonic ride not unlike any 15-minute drive through the city, alternating between claustrophobia and expansiveness. The poppy “Morning Light” and “Sad Eyes,” the urgent “29 Acts of Love” and the tender “Love Songs” cover enough ground that “Devotion” never stalls or sinks in its own squalor. Gliss seems to have found peace in the battle between the harsh and the tender, and they’ve done it by finding beauty in the latter. Recommended.