Glorious Noise: None More Orange and Black

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2006 3:45PM

Our friends at Glorious Noise are celebrating their fifth birthday this weekend with music, costumes and a new album by the band Riviera.

Back in the halcyon days of 2001, the Glorious Noise Web site launched under a simple motto: “Rock and roll can change your life.” Those words evoked the Who, the Clash and everything redemptive about music. Since then, the site has delved into all aspects of pop culture, but kept its critical eye on music, never afraid to deflate an ego or two (e.g. Ryan Adams).

Not content to just comment on culture, they’re also creating it with Glorious Noise Records, which boasts the artists Quasar Wut-Wut and Riviera. Both bands will be on the bill for this weekend’s Black and Orange Ball at Martyr’s along with Healthy White Baby.

The party also celebrates the release of Riviera’s second album, Capital. We were fans of the band’s first record, where you could practically hear the blood, sweat and tears that went into bringing it to life. Capital offers similar moments of quiet reflection (“Everything You Know,” “Dreams”) but overall this is a step forward for the band as they’ve thrown off the yoke of their influences, and created a less self-conscious record that isn’t afraid to offer up a foot-stomper like “Giving Blood” or make it plain that “sympathy don’t mean that much to me” (“Sympathy”). Stream the album here.

With Halloween just around the corner, this will be a masquerade/costumed affair. But if that doesn’t suit you, prom attire is encouraged, as is the sporting of the site’s signature colors, orange and black. Those decked out in the above will get $2 off the cover.

The Orange and Black Ball gets rolling at Martyr’s this Saturday the 21st at 10 p.m. Cover is $12 for the non-costumed.