Glass Bricks Debut Craquelure

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 5, 2010 3:40PM

Chances are you’re not familiar with Glass Bricks. After all, they’re newcomers to Chicago’s underground scene - the four-piece came together in 2009 when core duo Abby Glogower and Kate Walsh moved to Chicago from the East Coast and recruited bassist Al Schatz (formerly of Bird Names) and drummer John Shin. Since then they’ve been busy performing little known local venues, promoting the band and slowly assembling their first album, Craquelure, which was recently been released.

Their 8-track debut album is a portal to the days of '60s girl groups, embracing simple, sweet pop melodies reminiscent of The Dixie Cups and The Ronettes. The leading ladies take over the mics with delicate duet vocals, while Abby strums guitar and Kate toggles between a Wurlitzer electric piano and saxophone. But they also give their sound a more modern edge, sprinkling in dashes of psychedelic throughout the album and covering topics that any proper lady in the 60s would be shunned for singing about. Take for example “Do It To You” which presents lyrics like “When your hand brushed my thigh” and “I want to do it to you” followed by a string of effervescent ‘sha-na-na-nas.’

One of our favorites off the album, “Casual Fun” is a bouncy, loose melody with a surf pop rhythm that sounds like something you’d hear at a Sock Hop fifty years ago. But like many of the tracks on Craquelure, it feels somewhat muted, particularly the vocals which at times seem restrained and drowned out by the instrumental. Whether this effect is intended or simply the constraints of its recording, we find ourselves turning up the volume to get a clearer listen at their lovely voices. This isn’t necessarily a negative thing; if the album were just plain bad, we’d find ourselves turning it off rather than up. Check it out for yourself - Craquelure is available now (only in CD form) by mail for $8 or for a mere $5 if you pick it up in person at one of their shows.