Review: Glixen — Quiet Pleasures
Music
Glixen
Quiet Pleasures
Self-Released
Street: 02.21.25
Glixen = Narrow Head + Smashing Pumpkins
As an individual who tends to try and avoid musical acts that seem to flourish out of nowhere via social media, I was at first a little hesitant to take a deep-dive into Glixen. Given the consciously styled and notably current aesthetic portrayed by the youthful band’s art and dress, the contemporary notion that appearance holds more water than musical substance was one that I had hoped wouldn’t be upheld by the young musicians that constitute the ultramodern shoegaze group.Thankfully, my worry was in vain.
I had never delved into the shoegaze genre, let alone considered myself a fan. Upon my first listen through of Glixen’s brand-new release, Quiet Pleasures, I found myself questioning much of what I consider to be musically palatable. Song length (and use of space), balance of sound and the potential live experience were all aspects of this album that popped in and out of my head while listening in its entirety. I figured I’d do some light reading to get my head around what the musical objective of the genre really is. After watching some concert videos, listening to the essentials and taking a look at Glixen’s social media presence, the album’s second go-around made it click for me. These guys fit perfectly into the modern blend of digital and physical media that glorifies nostalgia while simultaneously rejecting old ideals deemed inferior, exchanging them for new ones. The new-age revival of shoegaze has called and Glixen has answered.
The sound profile of this album, albeit similar to many of its contemporaries, stands out via the quality and execution of its recording, mixing and mastering and the interesting composition of the melodic features made use of throughout the release. The awesome, stereo-abusive wideness of the guitar and bass fuzz almost demasculinizes the caveman-ish scale of the drum hits that steadily and aggressively push us through the pleasantly discordant backing melodies, all the while the vocals whisper soft lullabies from somewhere out of sight yet close by.
Quiet Pleasures features five songs — my current favorite being “Shut Me Down.” It offers a slight break from the oppressively slow motif of the release with its faster drums and bendy guitar riffs. While no lyrics are present on “Shut Me Down,” “All Tied Up” is a close second that makes use of vocalist Aislinn Ritchie’s hypnotic lyrical powers to facilitate a soundscape that feels both fundamentally unsafe yet warmly nostalgic.
Having the opportunity to listen through these songs prior to their release and use them to expand my own understanding of the genre (and music at large) was truly a treat. The future of art at a time like this is uncertain for countless reasons — but rest assured, as long as young bands like Glixen keep pushing culture into the future, progressing both their medium as a whole and their own personal artistry forward, we’ll be in good shape. If you enjoy wallowing in your own self-pity (in a kind of fun way) and harmonizing to haunting melodies on your way to work on a gray winter morning, Quiet Pleasures may be for you. —CJ Hanck
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