Product Description

Glaswegian four-piece Glasvegas release their self-titled debut album through Columbia. Another discovery by music mogul Alan McGee, the band mix the wall-of-sound style of My Bloody Valentine with the anthemic singalong choruses of latterday Manic Street Preachers. There is also a 1950s influenceevident here and vocals that emphasise the band's Scottish origins. A powerful, resounding success that includes the single 'Geraldine'.

Track Listing

1. Flowers And Football Tops
2. Geraldine
3. It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
4. Lonesome Swan
5. Go Square Go
6. Polmont On My Mind
7. Daddy's Gone
8. Stabbed
9. SAD Light
10. Ice Cream Van

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
Glasvegas are a four-piece from Glasgow - the latest band to be championed by industry mogul Alan McGee, the man that "discovered" Oasis. Despite the inevitable hyperbole that has followed McGee’s proclamation of the band, Glasvegas more than deliver on their early promise with this eponymous debut album. The quartet already showcased their earthy wit and sonic ambitions on singles such as "Daddy’s Gone," a heartfelt tale of soured father-son relations delivered in an uncompromising Glaswegian accent and set to a shimmering wall of rock & roll. Glasvegas continues in more or less the same vein. Singer James Allen reels off stories of everyday city life over euphonious, pop-edged soundtracks that blend 50s surf rock, layered, Phil Spector-esque production values and the occasional splash of 60s doo wop. Tracks like the arching "Flowers and Football Tops", the confessional "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" and the upbeat "Legs & Show" contrast with darker songs like "Stabbed" and "Go Square Go!". The band's down-to-earth worldview combined with their nostalgic sound and surging, sing-a-long choruses makes for a rich and enjoyable musical tapestry.

Customer Reviews

At last a band with authenticity
In an entertainment business full of faked stance and faux emotion, all of a sudden something REAL has come along. Glasvegas are tough, rough around the edges but ultimately this is the genuinely most affecting releases not just in 2008 but for many years.

Let's be clear about this, 'Glasvegas' aren't romanticised 'loser' jangle from the bedroom of a semi-detached, this is raw anguish, the sound of souls being shreaded by the dismal reality of life on the streets of the East End of Glasgow. The album covers such topics as gang violence, disfunctional families and perhaps most of all the utter desperation of the poverty trap and the yearning for a better life.

If all this sounds a little dreary, like a Ken Loach film set to music, then it is most definitely not. Glasvegas takes you through the spectrum of human emotions and back again.

Heart breaking music if ever there was.

Tidal Wave Of Hype
Tidal wave of hype blah blah ******* blah.

Was the hype justified? Well that depends on what you mean by 'hype' - if a record company signs a new band they like, then they will always try to sell them - that's their job. In that respect hype is always justified.

Whether the band lives up to the hype is another matter. I was going to buy this on day of release but didn't - the hype was too far above the plimsol line.

So I waited a couple of months, still interested to hear it:

Thematically Glasvegas is a very heavy LP - it's got the kind of full-on unflinching 'rock and roll - deal with it' vibe that Unknown Pleasures had. This pretty much makes it the diameter opposite of bands like Coldplay, whose discontent seems to stem from paradise syndrome and misplaced earnestness.

Trackwise I'd have to say there's nothing here that is less than very good, with occasional bits of brilliance - my fave track being S.A.D. Light. A proper anthem for anyone who lives north of Kent.

Glasvegas were on a fine line with this LP - at times they get dangerously close to greeting sentimentality territory but somehow the deftness of the lyrics and the understated musicianship pull it back from the edge.

The problem with hype is that it doesn't convey the scope of a record. And the hype (true to form) doesn't really give an idea of how remarkable this release is. And it's not perfect, although if I ever heard a perfect record it would probably be by idiots and only merit one star.

MEGA!!!
the music, the lyrics, the guitars, the drums, the voice!! everything about this album is MEGA!! buy it!!!