Music
Press
Sometimes bands surprise you. Two albums into their career on the local scene I thought I had the Glad Version all figured out. I had the quartet pegged as a group of talented and well meaning young guys whose music played it a little too safe and teetered a little too close for comfort to mawkishly emo terrain for me to ever really get behind. Then I heard their forthcoming third album, Make Islands, and that perception was blown to pieces. It’s a truly great record, a focused and polished pop platter that expands the Glad Version sound way beyond anything they’ve done in the past, the kind of album that screams to be discovered far beyond the state of Minnesota. - Reveille Mag
"Holding steady at #67 on the CMJ Music Charts, The Glad Version's new album Lights Out North Star is a blast of matt pond PA inspired indie rock that is saccharine enough to give you athletes foot from the amount of toe-tapping that ensues, but not so much as to induce vomiting. These tracks are indicative of the soft brilliance and shimmering pop-harmony ubiquity that covers the new album like gefilte-fish on Barbra Streisand's face." - serenadingspumonia.blogspot.com
"The Glad Version's likable, expertly crafted pop sometimes gets compared to Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst. Unlike Oberst, though, you won't want to punch anyone from the Glad Version in the face for being such a whiny diaper baby. The band debuts its new CD, 'Lights Out North Star,' at the 400 Bar on a bill with Kid Dakota and Duplomacy. And if they're lucky, they will start landing tracks on 'The O.C.' and the like, as there are thousands of teenagers out there who would instantly eat this stuff up." - Pioneer Press (twincities.com)
"At it's most serene, Adam Svec's voice sounds uncannily like that of James Diers, but the Glad Version's sound is a bit more organic than Halloween, Alaska's. Aside from the occasional almost-rocker (like the stomping 'Tin Soldier'), Lights Out North Star keeps things pretty laid back, even when tackling some serious drama. 'Captain my Captain,' which follows the after-math of domestic abuse, trades verses between the fleeing wife and the remorseful husband, handing off the chorus to the kids. Dealing with the heavy stuff tactfully is impressive enough, but the real feat is the song's ability to draw sympathy for the schmuck. Lights Out is full of alluring melodies that tap into human emotion on the most realistic level." - City Pages
"The difference between this band and countless others playing this type of music is the way they take those influences and make them sound their own... The use of interesting metaphors and descriptions of cities paint a picture of situations and road trips impossible not to envision... I can't say enough about 'Lights Out North Star.' This is a solid record that should make a big bang locally, with national potential." - Rift Magazine
"Traditionally, indie-pop is a genre filled with a few good bands and a bunch of mediocre ones. There is no denying that Glad Version is one of the good ones. Bouncy rhythms, strong-yet-pleasant vocal harmonies, lyrics that stick in your head and catchy melodies throughout make this an album that anyone can enjoy. On 'Beautiful Skeleton,' the band sings 'I just can't wait till we are perfect / heaven knows that we deserve it.' In truth, it doesn't have to wait, because there are several times on this album when it is just that." - The Signal
"The Glad Version have a knack for writing simple melodies with even more simple, yet meaningful lyrics. They have a very palatable Midwest appeal, like the type of music you would let your grandmother know you listen to and still feel cool about yourself. They are a bit Americana but play electric instruments. Overall, this is a very strong release from a band that probably gets more exposure on MySpace than radio stations; kind of a sad fact.'' - Kalamazoo Gazette
"This band is unsigned and this song (Tin Soldier) is amazing. You A&R types would be wise to snap 'em up..." - WOXY.com
Discography
"Smile Pretty Make Nice" - 2004 - #111 on the CMJ top 200.
"Lights Out North Star" - 2006 - #67 on the CMJ top 200. (featured on WOXY.com, 89.3 The Current)
"Make Islands" - 2007 - #109 on the CMJ top 200.
**yes, we have streaming tracks of all songs off the most recent release at www.thegladversion.com.
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Bio
Recent Press on The Glad Version:
Sometimes bands surprise you. Two albums into their career on the local scene I thought I had the Glad Version all figured out. I had the quartet pegged as a group of talented and well meaning young guys whose music played it a little too safe and teetered a little too close for comfort to mawkishly emo terrain for me to ever really get behind. Then I heard their forthcoming third album, Make Islands, and that perception was blown to pieces. It’s a truly great record, a focused and polished pop platter that expands the Glad Version sound way beyond anything they’ve done in the past, the kind of album that screams to be discovered far beyond the state of Minnesota.
--Reveille Magazine--
Whether or not writing a song called "89.3" is a great ploy for radio play, those Death Cab/Bright Eyes-loving guys in the Glad Version did just that for their third CD, Make Islands. The lyrics have little to do with the station in question (I think it's about being in a band), but it's one of many cuts that should get played on any station with an active music blog and a cool British DJ. Those include the frantically poppy "Ambulance," the gorgeous and icy anthem "Cougars" and the big-chorus builder "Under the Pines."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune--
The opening moments of Make Islands find the Glad Version's lead singer Adam Svec in a shootout in the Old West. While a guitar wails in the background, both the protagonist and the female antagonist get shot, and the blood begins to flow. The rest of the album isn't nearly as blood-soaked, but it's packed with as much claustrophobia and uneasy despair. The Glad Version have evolved since their last offering, 2006's Lights Out North Star. That slippery, almost indescribable shift from "pretty good" to "pretty great" is evident just seconds into the new disc's opener, and the record only gets better from there.
--City Pages--
[#15} With a boyish, downbeat/uptempo indie-rock sound somewhere between Death Cab for Cutie and Bright Eyes, this well-polished quartet would've sounded great on "The O.C." It still sounds pretty good on the station one of its songs is named after, "89.3."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune Twin Cities Critic's Tally--
The sound: Slick mid-tempo indie-pop sure to appeal to fans of Death Cab for Cutie.
Why this could be the year: The band’s gently rocking tunes are hip enough to appeal to the college rock crowd but smooth enough to play on Cities 97.
--Metro Magazine--
It is always nice to see the progression of a young band and especially when they really start to hit their stride. Minneapolis’ Glad Version is definitely one of those bands. Make Islands is the bands third album since 2004 and the refinement of their sound is very noticeable. Each track has a much more methodical approach to it with every harmony, beat, guitar lick and hush vocal planned down to the second, which for some bands would come off like stale bread but for The Glad Version it enables their true self to shine through track after track.
--The Fire Note--
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