gloryBots’ Release New LP “Radiation Skies” 

Strung together quite literally out of the brooding sounds of an old-school alternative rock we don’t get to hear enough of on the mainstream anymore, gloryBots’ new LP Radiation Skies captures the noted indie act sounding more divinely in touch with the medium than ever before.

They break off rollicking melodies in “False Alarm” as easily as they touch on softer rhythms in the likes of “Prove” and “Come at Me.” In “Servile” and “Hot Panic,” the guitar sings parts that the vocals just can’t handle on their own, with the lyrics between the string play gathering up just enough to issue a harmony no listener could soon forget. The instrumental aspect of Radiation Skies is as alive with expressiveness as any strand of lyrics ever could be, and although this isn’t a pop affair by any means, the music in “Titan” and “Unnatural” embodies a spirit classic British invasion acts once held quite dear. If you know gloryBots, you know they don’t skimp on quality when they hit the studio, and in this sense, their latest LP is in line with everything they’re produced to date. 

The chemistry that players share in the studio is more than enough the shape the very meaning behind a potentially controversial tune like “Freefall,” and this is a setting in which it does just that. When these two are connecting in a track, it’s as though we’re getting a sampling of what true musical democracy is supposed to sound and feel like in an ideal situation.

All of this lyrical content, no matter how cosmetically provocative, is made to exhibit the best parts of what the traditional alternative rock aesthetic is all about, which isn’t to say these verses can’t represent a deeper kinship with the meaning at hand at all. With no frills getting between the musicians, the message, or those meant to receive the material via this LP, we get to appreciate all of the barebones charms gloryBots have to offer us – and from where I sit, there’s a lot of it to be enjoyed. 

The last album this band released, Invisible (2020), got my attention on the spot, but I think what they’re up to in this recent selection of tracks is far superior to both their previous releases and those their contemporaries have cut in 2023. Last year’s surging reemergence of punk culture fostered a lot of curious growth on both sides of the dial, but as of this April, I can’t say that I’ve heard another indie group sounding quite like gloryBots does in Radiation Skies.

They’re authentic and lend passion to every verse they assemble in this LP, and as long as they keep steering towards continuous development in their poetic sensibilities, I doubt their momentum will do anything but get stronger as the year progresses. In short, if you’re a serious rock enthusiast, this is an act that you need to be following very closely right now via the intriguing new sounds they’re putting together in this latest release.

Mindy McCall