On Thursday evening, Manchester’s Night and Day Café welcomed Yorkshire-based band Glass Caves to their stage in support of their recent new album release ‘Back to Earth’. Having seen them for the first time last year, supporting The Slow Readers Club, I was instantly ‘bit’ and hungry see them again.
Discovering their formation was over a decade ago, I was excited to see what I’d been missing out on. Comprising of Matt Hallas (vocals/guitar) Elliot Fletcher (Drums) Darragh Burke (Guitar) Ben Truman (Bass), they enter the stage rocking moody two-piece suits n dockers. But they’re anything but moody. They are smiley and welcoming and have an air of ‘already made it’. But here we are, in one of Manchester’s most iconic venues where ‘up close and personal’ is the order of the evening which suits me fine.
Opening the set with the inspiring atmospheric anthem ‘Yes you can” laid the foundations perfectly with a Caves-thirsty crowd before swiftly moving into the catchy but kinda raunchy ‘Taipei Nights’. The set list is already demonstrating the talents of the vocal chameleon that is Matt Hallas. Not surprising when your inspirations are as varied as The Arctic Monkeys, Led Zeplin with the odd smattering of jazz. This isn’t a bad thing when you’re left with
a sound that you can’t quite describe to people or put into words. The beauty of ‘Bad weather’ showcases the soft side of Hallas’s voice whilst personal favourite ‘Who are you’ has the audience singing along.
The stunning melancholy of Making Waves slowed down the pace a little, leaving one ‘less engaged’ audience member under the spell of her mobile phone whilst completely oblivious that she was being joined by Hallas singing and looking at what was so much more mesmerising than indulging in the auditory delights on offer. Audience looking on, laughing. The catchy ‘Common Tongue’ is a delicious recipe of funk and disco with a flavour of psychedelic synth that you can’t help but dance to. Each song feels like it could have been their last single.
An upbeat heavenly marriage of memorable riffs with Fletcher’s dramatic drumming. ‘Alive’ has the audience shouting the chorus with arms raised. There’s something almost spiritual about this track that has everyone helplessly under its spell. The evening closes with ‘Swim’. The chanty intro has the audience joining in from the off. This track is stunningly uplifting where is almost feels like it could belong on the Joshua Tree with a soaring vocal that is filled with hope and optimism.
Recently featured on ‘BBC Introducing’ and described as “making music that taps into the world platform formula” the Glass Caves have this strange knack of sounding like an established band that have been touring stadiums for years whilst at the same time, sound fresh and unlike any other band on the circuit. Their dedication and perseverance are off the scale. Choosing the traditional methods to reach new audiences like busking on the freezing streets of York as opposed to sitting in a warm, cosy lounge ‘nailing the social’s’ give me a sense of admiration for them.
The production of ‘Back to Earth’ is a testament to their dedication, hard work and resilience. Catching up on what I’d missed over the last decade gave me butterflies for this album’s release and it really didn’t disappoint. Every track takes you on a beautifully mapped out journey, thoughtfully guiding you on a tour to sample the best features of this stunning band. Fans showed their appreciation by queuing up to add their messages to the actual ‘Back to Earth’ door (see album cover). One message read “one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to”. Totally self-managed and creating this calibre of music, its only a matter of time before indie-rocks best kept secret is out. I for one, will be clapping when it happens.
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT SHAVORNE WILBRAHAM
FOLLOW GLASS CAVES HERE
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