Russell HughesGloo – Stop and Stare (Self-Release)
Loud, brash, abrasive: Gloo are three normal guys who like to make us much noise as possible while matching that with a healthy dose of societal critique.
Opening salvo Stop and Stare is a nod towards our 24/7 culture, the CCTV on every street corner and the need to always feel watched – and maybe even validated.
With no label or agent this is an entirely DIY project, which it going a lot better than that type your Dad tried to put up a new set of Ikea shelves.
The band do so much themselves that is shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that their music is effortlessly simple. The vocals are screeched, it goes kinda quiet, then drummer Mark Harfield launches himself at the kit and the quiet disappears faster than the story line on Game of Thrones.
It’s a bit rinse and repeat, but it’s fun and easy to get in to and what else matters when you’re making music? These are undoubtedly tunes that would be a lot of fun to play and a lot of fun to see being played.
Although the Littlehampton locals can’t promise any less swearing than your old man sweating bullets while trying to assemble the latest flat-pack, they can promise it’ll be done with infinitely more style.
The band call Stop and Stare an EP and the length of it (23 minutes), would echo that. But in reality it’s more like a mini-album, with its seven songs that come flying in one after the other.
I’m Not Gunna Change is a blistering, trashing ode to stubbornness and keeping a sense of your own identity while Bad Sign and Drama Queen end the EP in classic Gloo style. Fast, loud and taking down someone for the stupid shit they do.