[ This is an album in two parts. ]
Part One: The Whispered East
Everyone in Arizona has seriously thought about leaving Arizona.
Growing up, it seemed like every summer my friends would wax poetic about places east of here, places with seasons other than a long summer and a short fall. Places that did not regularly hover at 115 degrees and require one to keep oven mitts in one’s car, so as to safely touch the steering wheel.
Then after high school, with graduation caps in plastic and yearbooks archived deep inside of closets, this longing was no longer idle. Friends disappeared, moving to places I’d never seen, towns I’d only heard of. The whispered east.
These songs are about that wanderlust that lures our loved ones elsewhere, and the ache of those of us left behind.
– Matt LeFevers, 2018
2011 photo shoot. Photo credit: Jackie LeFevers.
LYRICS
See all lyrics for this album at Genius.com,
along with annotations by songwriter Matt LeFevers.
Part Two: Brother, We Are Devils!
I stood upon a high place,
And saw, below, many devils
Running, leaping,
and carousing in sin.
One looked up, grinning,
And said, “Comrade! Brother!”
– Stephen Crane, “I Stood Upon A High Place”
The first half of this album is small, contained. The pages of a private journal, the thoughts you think walking through your home town in silence. This second half expands, taking in other lives, other thoughts. The things we share in common and those that divide.
I think of “Chase the Horizon” as the hinge. Musically, it starts soft, not out of place coming from the acoustic strum of the album’s first half, but somewhere it takes a turn towards chaos and bombast. Thematically, this song brings in a second viewpoint – an answering voice, of reassurance and challenge. There is more at stake than just leaving or staying. There is a life to be lived.
– Matt LeFevers, 2018
REVIEWS
“This Glass Embrace are a band with two passions: indie rock and post-hardcore. But instead of trying to combine the two into a single expression, they choose to explore both styles fully one at a time through a 50/50 split on their latest offering… It’s an interesting idea, but also one that can quickly turn into a lackluster one if not executed properly. The good news is that This Glass Embrace’s two vocalists are, if not excellent, then at least very good. […] Moreover, the lyrical output is superb all around. […] It’s hard to pinpoint which style This Glass Embrace triumphs in, because both have their strengths and weaknesses… Still, it’s impressive that the band are able to so well convey both styles without getting mixed up in one or the other.”
Petteri Pertola, Rockfreaks.net
Click here to read an extensive interview with the band about this album,
courtesy of Golden Mixtape.
“Brother, We Are Devils! is a great name for an album, and it’s obvious that Matt LeFevers values the art of the written word. This Glass Embrace is stuffed with allusions to Crane, the Bible, and various other literary mainstays, and the content of this album is obviously all quite close to the frontman’s heart.”
Josef Jensen, The Indie Artist Podcast
“Lilting, moody alt-pop. The music is extremely understated, and the vocals sit just on the good side of precious. There’s so much here that tends to annoy me, but I ended up liking the thing. I’m thinking this one is pretty good.”
VIDEOS
This Glass Embrace 