If you dig Belle and Sebastian’s brand of indie pop along with Mazzy Star’s style of alternative rock and have ever wondered what a lovechild of the two might sound like…let us introduce you to Glassreel. This Winnipeg project began as a duo between core songwriters Kelly Beaton and Trevor Graumann before rounding out a rhythm section with Ken Phillips and Andrew Workman. Since Glassreel started sharing singles as a quartet in 2019, they’ve refined a crystalline mix of calm-yet-confident vocals, delightful dynamics, and transportive soundscapes.
Next Friday the four-piece unleashes their debut full-length Lustre, an eight-track that coats Glassreel’s existing sound with sheens of Aimee Mann, Phillip Glass, Pixies, Fiona Apple, The New Pornographers, and even Fleetwood Mac. To help match the quality to those legends, Lustre was mastered by Grammy nominee Philip Shaw Bova, who’s engineered the likes of Father John Misty and Angel Olsen. Between Bova’s assistance and the band’s natural maturation, Lustre‘s final lead single, “Compromise” carries McVie-esque keys and tasteful brass chords for an arrangement that proves how far Glassreel’s come in the past three years alone.