The Glaciers
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The Glaciers

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"Mono Highway"

New York's Glaciers include six members who have been playing in the New York City area for a number of years, including Jackie Linge and Ian Stynes, who did stints with The Mendoza Line. The music is countrified pop - or popified country if you prefer - with an emphasis on the pop. I hear more and more bands unashamedly mixing country into their songs, and often it takes a very talented act doing so to keep my interest.

"Mono Highway" opens with a bouncy country beat and lovely sung "ah-oo-ooo," making me immediately think soundtrack to a Western flick. The song turns into a countryified pop song quickly, though, with Linge's pretty vocals mixing nicely with the upbeat pace and synths providing a more poppy accompaniment. There's even handclaps to up the pop quotient. Despite those elements, however, the song maintains a kind of lonely Midwestern feel that makes one think of the highway, and this wouldn't be a bad highway driving song at all.

For those who are ashamed to like country music, bands like The Glaciers make it easy. There's more pop than country here, with strings on some songs, keyboards on others, and Linge's voice providing a lovely but emphatic accompaniment. Many of the band's songs are stirringly pretty, and there's a nice variety on the band's website for perusing.


-Jeff Marsh
05/23/0 - Delusions Of Adequacy


"Reactor Media"

"..this is a group you need to know about. And I mean need. I actually am quite amazed that they have not emerged onto the national indie scene as a vital and integral band. But, soon enough that will happen. If there is any justice in this world."

-Reactor Media - reactormedia.blogspot.com - Reactor Media


"Kepler Music"

"A magical record which contains some of the best production and playing of the year. Reminiscent of the Cowboy Junkies' classic, The Trinity Session, "Kidney Stone", and "Railroad" are two of the most beautiful songs of the year."

www.keplermusic.com - Kepler Music


"Miles of Music"

Imagine if Bobbie Gentry had spent her formative years immersed in the Oregon/Seattle indie scene of the mid-`90s. That`s the first impression given by The Glaciers with their opening track "World On Fire". But first impressions can be misleading as the duo of Jackie Linge and Ian Stynes (both Mendoza Line alumni) prove that each new song offers a new shadowy vantage point. And grey days darken the vista throughout this relatively down-beat record which moves from delicate indie-folk to brooding rockers on up to the occasional roots-pop tune with sweeping and twangy pedal-steel. Alternating steel players Gerald Menke (C. Gibbs) and Bob Hoffnar (Hem, Amy Allison, Ryan Adams) each help enrich these moody pieces throughout the record. And a host of other New York area players - including a trumpeter, a lush and haunting string quartet as well as cellist Linnea Weiss - all add a sad baroque quality to the songs. -- Robinson, Miles Of Music (Eskimo Kiss Records) - Miles of Music


"Amplifier Magazine"

Rich on mood and texture, The Glaciers debut "The Moonlight Never Misses an Appointment" is an album of understated beauty. Comprised of future nuptials Jackie Linge and Ian Stynes, who you may remember from American shoegazing heroes The Mendoza Line, The Glaciers play the kind of atmospheric, rootsy pop that will last the whole summer. In other words, this is an album that sticks. Linge's vocals are a stirring combination of darkness and light, and she commandeers every song with phrasing that is both assured and original. Much to recommend here, but to name a few, "World On Fire" suggests a more upbeat Beth Orton; "Habit To Break" is a country-tinged number replete with a wistful dose of pedal steel; and "To Be One" is a dreamy folk ballad that comes with a perfectly weepy string arrangement. Recorded in the basement of the couple's home studio in Queens, the production here is intimate and warm, and lends a personal quality to tracks like the acoustic "Mobile Home" or the spare and moving "Fleeing Away." Lovely work.

- Amplifier Magazine


"Urban Pollution"

The Glaciers are easy enough to classify under country-tinged indie rock. It’s their angle that’s a little perplexing. With a star-studded lineup, headed by former Mendoza Line members Ian Stynes and Jackie Linge, and thickened with the help of friends from Hem, Mercury Rev, The Essex Green and more, the group has no shortage of indie cred. The maturity of the playing and the songwriting is solid though not groundbreaking, as initial comparisons to youthful, and relevant groups like Rilo Kiley fall away for more traditional AAA artists. Despite their adult tendencies, The Glaciers’ first release is an intriguing affair of wholesome alt-country.

The Moonlight Never Misses An Appointment is the debut album by Stynes and Linge, who formed the group three years ago while juggling other bands in NYC, including the beloved Mendoza Line. The couple began experimenting at Stynes’ studio, friends laid down fresh parts, and now, The Glaciers have become “a collective of sorts.” Linge and Stynes write all the songs—many of them together—and cover the majority of basic instrumentation. Linge sings on all, plays acoustic guitar and piano on a few, as well as a little organ and synth. Stynes plays drums and percussion on all the tunes, electric and acoustic guitar on most, bass, synth and organ. The other contributors give Moonlight much of its gloss and country styling. Bob Hoffnar (Hem, The Ghost Rockets) and Gerald Menke split duty on pedal steel, giving mournful, Nashville professionalism to nearly every track.

“Habit To Break” is a fine example of Menke’s work, marrying traditional country with contemporary pop. Linge’s radio-friendly chorus, “Since you’ve been away, my love,” lifts the song out of its somber, countrified “High and Dry” state. “To Be One” hints at The Bends with the acoustic strumming of “Fake Plastic Trees.” While The Glaciers are very parent-friendly, thankfully, we are spared outright covers of said sing-alongs or a predictable Jeff Buckley version of “Hallelujah.”

Truthfully, they don’t need any help coming up with a hit. Even at almost five minutes, opener “World On Fire” is about as good of introduction to The Glaciers as any. Bob Hoffnar’s pedal steel blends with Stynes’ electric guitar to create a glorious ringing. The song goes through several sounds from Rilo Kiley to country, with the last minute driving and infectious like the timeless classic “I Melt With You.”

The best song on Moonlight is not far off the piano balladry of Norah Jones or Sarah McLachlan but much more memorable than the sentimental hits of either adult radio darling. Linge’s voice is thinner than some of her contemporaries, but her words linger like the haunting pedal steel. “A wild eyed woman to prove that she’s more than a blanket to fuck….” Because there is not anger in her voice the line is all the more potent.

There are some lazy country-pop tunes perfect for AAA stations (“Railroad,” “Mobile Home”). They’re not bad, just usual. Other contemplative tracks, like Stynes’ “Kidney Stone,” match the tumbling melancholy of an Owen song. (Coincidentally, Hoffnar contributed pedal steel on a split for said Kinsella project). Linge tries on several suits, from Jenny Lewis to Cat Power, to Liz Phair. Even when the music says one thing, albeit really well, her voice has the potential to turn the corner and speak to multiple generations. - Urban Pollution


"Indie Workshop"

While The Moonlight Never Misses An Appointment, The
Glaciers certainly never miss an opportunity to charm
and beguile with their ethereal indie-pop. It seems
easy to compare Jackie Linge's breathy and nodding
voice to Cat Power as the press release so readily
does, but there is a ferocity to it that The Greatest
herself does not possess. Intentions are muddied with
aplomb and disparate lyrics fly over the merry stomp
of the more boisterous tunes, with Mono Highway
standing out as a growly testament of theft and
horror.

But for every growl there is an equally delightful
purr, with opening track World On Fire lolloping
through treacle-space like a sodden cat. The wiry but
fulsome steel guitar remains a focus throughout the
record, but it is ably showcased at the outset,
weaving delicately with the rest of the ensemble
without being too obtrusive. And while there is a
mildly annoying tendency toward MOR, the presiding
atmosphere is one of calm rather than boredom.

Even sounding a little Dirty Three-esque on Mobile
Home, The Glaciers are not yet masters of their trade,
but they possess enough warmth to smooth over the
cracks in originality. Even when the over-dramatics of
Lucky Me threaten to thwart the tail-end of the
record, it is salvaged by the pinpoint judgement of
closing sleeper Hats Off. An odd place to stick the
centrepiece the very end may be, but it serves a
glorious summery purpose of searing as much as it
soothes. The opening clatter of string quartet is
oddly juxtaposed with the subdued piano-vocal body of
the song, but once the two entities mingle with one
another a balance between drama and enchantment is
stricken.

The Glaciers are not quite capable of the icy chill
and refracted warmth that their name might imply, but
there are the makings of something more sublime and
epic just bubbling under the ice-flow. So grab a rod,
come fishing with The Glaciers – they'll warm you up
and sustain you, but maybe not touch you in the way
you'd ideally want.
- Daniel Ross | 2006-07-19 - www.indieworkshop.com


Discography

The Moonlight Never Misses an Appointment

The Indie Feed podcast features two of our songs: "World on Fire" and "Mono Highway"

Photos

Bio

Jackie and Ian started The Glaciers about six years ago. They were playing with a couple different groups at the time (including the Mendoza Line) and lived in a house out in Queens.

What started out as a simple experiment with a few close friends has evolved into a multi-layered and textured sound. The music is centered around Jackie’s vocals (which have been compared to Cat Power, Beth Orton and PJ Harvey) and includes the usual suspects of drums, electric guitars and keyboards.

Along with the traditional lineup you will find a collage of new instruments and musical styles. Joining us on the pedal steel guitar is Bob Hoffnar (Hem, Mojave 3, Rainer Maria, The Mendoza Line). Playing the cello is Linnea Weiss (Mates of State, Elk City, Edison Woods).

Built on the morals of melodies and the retracing of regrets, the collection of songs come together in an intimate collection of music and compatriots.

The Glaciers have performed all over the city at clubs such as Mercury Lounge and the Knitting Factory, playing with the likes of Mary Timony, Hula, Essex Green, Matt Pond PA, Tilly and the Wall, Mayday and Cordero.

The Glaciers are currently working on a new album. Some of the new songs are featured on this account; they include "When Kingdoms Fall", "Stoned Wife", and "I'm a Spy".