GLOO - 'STOP AND STARE' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Stop And Stare

2. Standerby

3. I’m Not Gonna Change

4. Drama Queen

5. Bad Sign

6. Great Idea

7. I’m A Mess

Everybody’s (my) favourite Littlehampton Hard Rockers (I have no idea how much competition there is for this coveted title) GLOO return with a follow up EP to their debut album. The EP is barely shorter than the long playing record, and is just as satisfying. The record takes its title from the opening track of the same name, an almost Indie Punk track with catchy refrains and a chirpy yet frenetic style. As a whole, the EP seems much more personal in subject matter, 3 Songs & Out described the latter as “a rage against the mundane” but “STOP AND STARE” is much more introspective, with lyrics tackling paranoia and self-loathing, but also acceptance.

GLOO have developed a distinctive sound which shines through in this release, carrying on from the LP; fun sounds a pretty crap way of describing a sound, but it’s the word I keep returning to. Even when the lyrics are at their darkest, there’s a bouncy shouty quality that sounds, well, fun. Even in ‘Bad Sign’, where Tom Harfield’s vocal begs “take this all away from me… make this go away” there’s whooping and chatter low down in the mix, which just makes it sound like the band are having the time of their life. I’ve struggled to come up with a highlight for this EP, largely because of the fact that the songs are all of such a similar quality (all killer, no filler) but ‘Drama Queen’ pips the album’s finale, ‘I’m A Mess’, to the post. I base this on nothing other than the fantastic moment where the lyric “everything makes her scream” is followed by what can only be described as a B-Movie scream that makes me think of a pretty lady in a floaty dress being attacked by a latex monster with two heads, several arms and pointy teeth.

So ‘STOP AND STARE’ is credible yet accessible, dark yet light, depressing yet funny; more than this though, it’s good, and that’s all that needs saying.