Silky blends of jazz, hip-hop, synthwave and ‘80s pop sees Glue70s latest album ‘2070’ exceeding expectations by reigniting old school genres with a revitalised modern style.
Released through Majestic Casual Records, 2070 is Glue70s fourth full-length studio album. From releasing their debut album ‘After School’ in 2016, Glue70 has since released an EP, numerous singles and three more full-length albums. Reaching almost 14.5 million Spotify streams with 2017 viral success ‘Casin’ and nearing 2 million streams with ‘What You Want’ only months after its release, Glue70 is quickly proving themselves as a new wave pioneer.
The chilled, lo-fi blend that 2070 brings to the table is not only stylistically progressive but flawlessly produced. Over its hip-hop melodies, brassy synths and trippy vocal textures, the album’s first-half displays unmistakable undercurrents of jazz through its lively scales and unanticipated modulation featured within the tracks. Although carrying an idyllic serenity throughout the music, the decorative styles of each song differ greatly to one another, giving the album a safe familiarity whilst simultaneously providing a unique variety. Over the duration albums second half, the jazzy influence tactfully morphs into sounds closer to that of synthwave, R’n’B and ‘80s pop melodies. Each still exploring exclusive compositions, the more linear chordal patterns and simpler melodies create a more commercially accessible sound, offering a pop-ier and more radio-friendly feel.
Glue70’s compositional styles in the album range from robotic vocal effects to phased synth pads, from trippy, drunken jazz beats to brassy adlibs, hard funky basslines to fleeting, dreamlike backing melodies. Featured on the album’s contrasing arrangement is rapper KinKai and vocalist Katie Miller. Featuring on two tracks, KinKai takes to the verses of ‘All I Can Send’ and ‘Roll The Dice’. Sounding as if the music has been plucked out of a smoky jazz bar and placed though an electronic filter. ‘All I Can Send’, revitalises its old school smooth jazz in the form of synths, reverberated backing vocals, rap and trap beats. Still nodding its head towards the genre, ‘Roll The Dice’ reveals deeply honest vocals from KinKai about turmoil within their family and the impact it’s had on their life.
The album includes the recent singles ‘Dark Days’, ‘Days Go On’ and ‘What You Want’ alongside an additional nine memorable tracks. Convincing their partner to stay together, ‘Eden’ wraps its vocal tracks around trippy synthesised effects and hip-hop beats whilst travelling through a phasered soundscape. Though sounding more like chilled, lo-fi hip-hop, once you delve into the lyrics the whole song shifts gear and begins to feel more wistful than before.
‘Til You Say’ sways a little further away from the albums lo-fi beats and instead sits comfortably within the Synthwave genre. With a higher flowing tempo and synthesised tones akin to HOME’s ‘Resonance’ and Grand Master Flash’s ‘The Message’, the song conjures up an intimate feeling of nostalgia.
Contrasting with the rest of the album, ‘What You Want’ sees a four on the floor club beat, looped synth melodies and repeated vocal phrases. The music could quite easily masquerade itself in both the club and your study space, with the continuous repetition easily capable of standardising your body or your brainwaves.
Glue70 delivers once again with 2070. Whilst 2017 single ‘Casin’ has been the leading fan favourite, the diversity and excitement from their latest record is certainly set to challenge that. It’s always compelling to watch the artistic direction and influences behind each album and hear Glue70 tailor their roots to the contrasting array of the genres they’ve recently explored.