It's a dreary Sunday afternoon and you're dreading anything you have to do tomorrow and making your last day of weekend freedom count by doing absolutely nothing in your favorite hoodie and pajama pants. The trees outside are changing, the people around you are wearing more clothing, the temperature drops dramatically and you're just around not to embrace it, but just to accept it.
Listening to The Glow Pt. 2 is a very intense experience. The album clocks in at 20 tracks and can be difficult to do in one sitting, but you're strong enough to get through it, it will certainly reward you. The album starts with two of the strongest and emotionally packed songs ever recorded. Two-part epic opener "I Want The Wind To Blow" begins with a simple plucking of the guitar, but oddly double tracked. Frontman and mind behind the project, Phil Elvrum begins singing his song and he will more than likely come off as your typical whiny singer songwriter that we've all heard before. But listen closer, "i faced death / i went in with my arms swinging / but i heard my own breath / i had to face that i'm still living" lyrics such as will surely catch you off guard and send you into a trance. Often times, lyrics on the album make me question the size of scope of things, including myself. Although lyrically this album is quite a heavy load, what makes the album so memorable is its distinct production. The album is literally unlike anything I have ever heard before. It seamlessly mixes elements of folk, acoustic singer/songwriter and oddly enough, black metal. One minute you're listening to a lighthearted song with vocals accompanied by Elvrum's tiny, timid voice, and the next you're thrown into a hazy, heavy whirlwind of messy, crashing cymbals and distorted electric guitar that sounds like it was played through a cheap pocket amplifier. These two elements fused make a memorable sound that is both angelic and frightening simultaneously. I'm sure during the time of this album's release it was truly something.
The middle of the album, undoubtedly at its most dense and straightforward, is easy to get lost in. Listening to songs such as "I'll Not Contain You" and "You'll Be In The Air" puts me into a crowded sporting event exit: I can't see anything around me from the congestion of people and I'm looking for my small, light haired lover. The sound of its swirling instrumentation and shy vocals make it a delightful listening experience, even if it is less striking as the first half.
In it's twilight minutes, it may start out to be more of the same idea presented in the middle of the album, but once almost closer "Samurai Sword" opens up, it rips your heart right out and smears it all in your face. Barely audible, the song is jam packed with the reoccurring disgusting cymbal and snare hits and distorted guitar and you feel like you're not even listening to the same album anymore. It's gonna scare the shit out of you if you're listening to this one with headphones. Abruptly enough, the song cuts off right in the midst of the instrumental shit storm, both confusing you and leaving you anticipated for what might come next. What comes next is a short instrumental disguised in a near ten-minute song. The last seven or so minutes are simply silence, with the sound of a foghorn popping up every few seconds, with excerpts of songs fading in and out. I see this section as sort of a winding down of the album, but at the same time, it packs a lot of tension.
The sound of what might be a foghorn appears multiple times on the album. In an interview, Phil said that he wanted the album to take place near a body of water, and the foghorn is what is used to create that. Judging by the cold theme of the album, I can easily see where he is coming from. Although sometimes the water can be the scariest thing in the world, it can also be something we love and something that can save us all.
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