Posts by Gabriel Scheer

To see ODESZA is to experience an exuberant, joy-filled extravaganza. ODESZA formed in 2012 and quickly gained attention for their wonderfully upbeat, summery-feeling electronic sound. When Glide first interviewed them in 2014, they were reveling at the ability to finally add visuals to their light show and had begun adding live instruments to the stage. In […]

Sweden’s dynamic duo First Aid Kit brought their Americana-tinged folk-rock to Seattle recently to a sold-out show at the historic Moore Theatre on January 28th. Their first stop in Seattle in four years, their show did not disappoint. The earnest sisters and the three backing musicians, ably supported by Van William, had the audience alternately […]

Thank goodness they’re back. Midnight Oil is a band that many have never heard of… until you sing, “How can we dance, When our earth is turning; How do we sleep, While our beds are burning?” And then everyone knows them. The funny thing is, despite forming in the 1970s, they are as relevant – […]

[rating=7.00] March to May is a Seattle-based folk/rock duo whose music is a gentle blend of acoustic instruments accompanying two beautiful voices that manage to become gorgeous together. With the recently-released Through the Night, they have a created an album that is a perfect encapsulation of the Pacific Northwest at its most pensive, haunting, and […]

To enjoy Sigur Rós one must put aside many of the expectations commonly held of and for “pop” music, at least when defining “pop” as being popular. Indeed, Sigur Rós defy nearly all the conventions of pop music while creating something ethereal, fuller, and somehow more enduring-seeming than much other so-called pop. Nowhere, though, is the fact […]

Writing a review of Weird Al is writing about an American original. While still (only) in his 50s, Weird Al Yankovic has been writing parodies – and polkas – since 1976. Seriously. His recent show at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo on July 27th (an oddly fitting venue for Al, despite the fact that he had […]

Moderat puts on a killer live show. For most of this tour, concertgoers will be treated to a laser show and beautiful-looking backdrop lighting and video. Unfortunately, the setup of the Showbox doesn’t allow for some of what Moderat appears to be doing on this tour – but otherwise, as expected, they were fantastic in their […]

[rating=7.00] Moderat is releasing their third album titled appropriately III. Happily, that is the only part of the album not worthy of comment. As with their previous albums, III is a brilliant mix of dark beats, heavy basslines, haunting vocals, and the general grit that can only be found in the merging of German acts […]

[rating=8.00] The Cloud Cult journey has been a deep musical exploration of some of the most intense, complex, and unknowable aspects of what it is to be human. Their latest album, The Seeker, continues in that tradition, building beautifully and intelligently upon the existing catalog. Released with a series of videos, The Seeker is at […]

DeVotchKa has a fascinating story that, in many ways, makes them the perfect band to play with a symphony. Formed in Colorado, they got their start as a backing band for burlesque shows (including those of former Marilyn Manson girlfriend Dita Von Teese), and they gained a broader following as their music was noticed and […]

[rating=9.00] Before covering Branko’s new album Atlas, let us cover a bit of ground. Fans of globally inspired dance music (think M.I.A.) will likely have already heard of the adventurous, and truly original kuduro/global dance band Buraka Som Sistema. If you don’t count yourself among that lucky group of listeners, they are highly recommended (give […]

[rating=8.00] Rocky Votolato has always won points, at least in the ears of this reviewer, for the intense honesty and emotional transparency of his music. Votolato’s recent work has been tinged with sadness which can be described as weariness translating to the sound of a man who had traveled a long road.  All that changes […]

When’s the last time you went to an evening of music headlined by an accordion player and based on the adventures of a man named Chicken – and then laughed uproariously, loved the music, and cried over the life story of someone you’ve never met? If you’re like this author, the above sentence seems completely […]

[rating=9.00] Remember Underworld? Though they’ve been around (in various versions) since 1980, they are arguably most famous for 1995’s “Born Slippy,” a dance/rave anthem that featured prominently in the film Trainspotting. Indeed, it was through “Born Slippy” that this reviewer first really discovered Underworld. As for many others, though, “Born Slippy” was merely the first […]

[rating=6.00] For starters, the fifth album from Portland’s Horse Feathers was recorded in a combination of studio and…barn. Surely, it is a departure from previous work; Horse Feathers lead Justin Ringle was hoping to move away from his previously darker music, and in this iteration of Horse Feathers, feels he has. In the ears of […]

[rating=8.00] The Barr Brothers are your new favorite fall comfort blanket. Listening to their latest, Sleeping Operator, feels both comfortable and like a breath of fresh, folk-rocky air. One could pop it into a CD player (or perhaps just stream it…) and randomly select a song, only to easily imagine the album being some long-lost […]

ODESZA, a two-year-old electronic duo from Seattle, has quickly gone from side project to a notable underground electronic act now on their first national tour. Consisting of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, their debut release, Summer’s Gone, was a mixture of dreamy  melodies, mixed with glitchy vocals and grandiose bass lines.. Two tracks from Summer’s […]

For those who missed it, this magazine recently reviewed Moderat’s new album, II. The too long; didn’t read version of that review is if you like electronic music, you should listen to the album. Happily, this reviewer has now also had the opportunity to see them live, and the experience did not disappoint. The threesome, […]

[rating=9.00] Moderat is Apparat and Modeselektor. Whether that means anything to you shouldn’t matter. However, if it does, you already know you should acquire this album. For the uninitiated: both Apparat and Modeselektor are of the Berlin electronic scene. Apparat is a one-man show, Sascha Ring, with roots in techno and ambient music. Duo Modeselektor, […]

The new album from Toronto–based Trust, entitled TRST, is a very solid album from a young band. Labeled as “synthpop” and “dark wave,” it’s a great merger of danceable, poppy tunes and a darker, heavier edgy sound.