Alice Glass - Alice Glass EP

Alice Glass
Alice Glass EP
2017
Spotify

Former frontwoman of Crystal Castles Alice Glass has finally reemerged since her highly publicized split with the band back in 2014. As Crystal Castles got bigger and darker it seemed like Glass has slipped into a more brooding groove. Its still pumped up electronic a la NERO, but she allows her voice to stand front and center for most of the record. Her vocals are much clearly on this album and less chopped up, but she still manages to keep that really haunting echo that made her so popular in the first place. The album came out essentially in secret slipping on to streaming sites in the middle of the night. Some of the aggression has subsided which Glass contributes to leaving Crystal Castles and also that part of her life behind her. Don't get it twisted though, Glass' voice is just as cutting and the industrial beats pound away quite hard. "White Lies" has this almost shrieking piece to it which is really off putting, but her sweet vocals are so intoxicating it keeps you hanging around. She finds some middle ground from her old band sounding more like Purity Ring than Crystal Castles on this album, but those angry sentiments still seem to be bubbling down there somewhere. having produced much of the album herself it is an impressive feat. Around every turn is some booming bass or something wormy creating this really immersive sound even though it is not all that pleasing.

18 minutes for six songs is also quite quick, which really doesn't make sense because where was the rush? She really hurried this album out but since leaving Crystal Castles has done almost nothing besides a couple singles which appear here. You keep waiting for something to really engage or for the record to shift into another gear, but it never really does. The entire record sort of hangs around this one vibe even though Glass makes some occasional transitions. It just feels a bit boring, and about to embark on a tour with Marilyn Manson she will really need to push these songs hard to get that industrial vibe that scene is used to. Songs like "Natural Selection" and a production marvel, but are so muddy and disjointed that it does not come together like it really should. Rushed or ill conceived something about this record does not smell right and plainly it misses the mark. Glass is a really great vocalist, but as a solo act she just has not fully put it together yet.

5.0 out of 10