Glamour Assassins

Hello friends, we are back with another week of local music. I have to start off by saying, keep on sending in those submissions for review, because that is how I have found out about a lot of fresh talent these past few weeks. For example, the band I am spotlighting this week wrote to The Aquarian, and it got sent to my inbox. A few days later, magic happened, and it’s all history from there. Nothing goes unnoticed, so be patient, and keep on plugging! That being said, let’s get down to the point of business: the music.

This week, I am expanding a little bit out of my local range to a little surrounding state called Connecticut. We have so much talent in and around our area, so we might as well open up the doors to extend a few more miles, right? Right. This band goes by the name of Glamour Assassins, and they hail from New Haven, a city I personally adore. Glamour Assassins consists of Jared Savas, Nick Post, Jose Novo, Carrie Martinelli, and Gil Morrison. They have a fresh, original sound and style that really grabbed my attention. I think you will dig them, so let’s explore a little deeper.

Upon first listen, I really couldn’t pinpoint a specific genre to throw them in. Not that you have to, by any means, because bands don’t need to have their sound labeled. However, if you’re browsing through some tunes, and you need to know where you can “find them,” they describe their sound in a very eclectic way. “We are en electrifying blend of indie rock, dance punk, new wave, and synth pop.” Upon listening to their smash “Never Get Caught,” I see exactly what they mean by this description. In the opening parts, I want nothing more than to throw on my ’80s shades and move, busting out some old dance moves. As the song continues, I feel as if I am brought back into modern day, almost with a song that I would hear on SiriusXM Alt Nation. I love this track, and it really got me on my feet.

I then proceeded to check out “Scumbag.” Well, there are a few reasons I like this song; number one, the title. I feel like a lot of us could dedicate this to many people (not trying to burn anyone here, but we all know one). Listen to the lyrics here, and feel the energy. This is somewhat of a summer anthem to me, for I love everything from the rhythm, the words, and the style. Blast this track at a party in your backyard, and if anything, the neighbors will come on over and join.

Glamour Assassins are in a bracket of all their own. In the track “Ain’t So Young,” they showcase their musical talents the most. This track is a little rawer, allowing you to slow down from the dancing for a second and enjoy the true beauty of their flair. The vocals are on point here, along with the message they are putting out there. Even the backing vocals are strong here, and I could see this track being in a memorable love scene at the movies (I mean this in the best way possible, of course). Their recording energy is undeniable, so I can’t even begin to imagine the liveliness they bring to a live performance.

Judging by their Facebook page, they play a lot of shows all around the surroundings areas, so I highly recommend you find the time to go check out their live set. Not to judge a book by its cover (that’s not what we do here), but they appear to have the style to go along with the sound as well. Kudos to you guys; it’s all in line!

If you want to learn more about Glamour Assassins, access their show dates, music, videos, photos, and much more, be sure to like them on Facebook at Facebook.com/GlamourAssassins. Over there you can send them a message, and demand that they come to your town. They also have a SoundCloud page and so much more you can check out while you’re over there. I am a newfound fan of Glamour Assassins, and I know you will be too! - The Aquarian Weekly (written by Maria Ciezak)

Adding fresh energy to the punk/rock genre can be difficult. Most of the time the music sounds like a rehash of The Clash or other 80s punk bands and doesn’t bring anything new to listen to. Yet in the realm of indie pop there is a band—a band that has not only been trying to revive the punk/rock genre, but they are creating music that both pays homage to the sounds of days past and adds a modern electronic twist.

Glamour Assassins formed in New Haven, Connecticut and is now playing several venues in NYC. They remind me a little of the band Panic at the Disco, but their sound is so unique that I find it difficult to compare them to any other bands out there. Glamour Assassins uses the traditional 80s synthesizer punk sound with drums, guitar, and sober singing, but at times they also use a more modern electronic sound that also reminds me of the 90s band Chumbawamba.

Perhaps the most genre-defying and divergent song on the album is "London Fog". The song begins with an epic-feeling electronic intro that slowly evolves to include drums. Then the music shifts to a modern electronic sound that lovers of pop and punk will love. The lyrics are simple, but intense, with singing that sounds both restrained and yet ready to burst fiercely from its confinements if given the chance. "London Fog" is my favourite song on this album.

"Sex Life" and "Phantom at the Disco" include ingenious electronic effects with traditional punk music that flints into a strong rock sound at times. The effects in "Sex Life" remind me of Tesla coils giving the song an electrified tone, and "Phantom at the Disco" showcases several effects that are reminiscent of older punk music, but the sound rises above its origins and creates something truly remarkable.

The way the album is arranged and tied together is extremely clever. The second track "Hate Song Pt.1 (Exile)" is eerily beautiful with its transcendent synthesized sounds and soft female vocals. Since it acts as an intro, "Hate Song Pt.1 (Exile)" lasts barely over a minute and leaves the listener wanting more. At the conclusion of the album is "Hate Song Pt. II (Death or Love)", which is very similar to the other tracks on the album. But because "Hate Song Pt.1 (Exile)" whetted the listener’s appetite, "Hate Song Pt. II (Death or Love)" simply expands on the themes in the first part, and brilliantly brings the album to a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, if you are a fan of Electronica, Punk, Dance, or Rock, I highly suggest checking out this album. The sounds are fresh, unique, and brilliantly honour the popular elements of 80s punk music. Ain’t So Young will be released August 7th and is available for pre-order on the band’s bandcamp page. - The Voice (written by Samantha Stevens)

“The day rock ‘n’ roll died / nobody listened at all,” Jared Savas sings on the first track of Glamour Assassins’ Ain’t So Young, the debut album of a New Haven-based band of music veterans who call their music all kinds of things — indie, dance punk, synth pop — but on this album find themselves riding the new wave.

Wait ... new wave?

As Q-Tip said all those years ago, Don’t you know that things go in cycles? New wave — that synth-driven genre that emerged from punk in the late 1970s to help define the sound of an era, as well as part of the sound of New Haven in the 1980s — has been back for a while. But it has changed, too. And so much the better.

“I was definitely into a lot of bands from that era,” Savas told the Independent. “The Clash is probably the biggest influence that I’ll ever have, but there’s a lot from 80s synth pop, too. I don’t know that there was a set goal to emulate that kind of sound. I just started writing songs, and I felt there was a world of sonic opportunities to tap into. But we really also want to do something that’s unique. It’s the familiar and the future. You can relate it to the past, but it’s also something fresh.”

Even on the album’s heavily synth-driven numbers — the ones that come closest to sounding like they could have been written by, say, Vince Clarke in his heyday — there is still very much a sense of the three decades of popular music that have elapsed since then, a flavor of today’s pop as much as yesterday’s, as well as the band’s own sensibilities pushing the music forward. The production, ably helmed by Joey Mascola, bypasses the super-bright sound of the 1980s (which, according to legend, sounds really good when you’re high on cocaine) for a darker sonic landscape that sounds more contemporary. There’s a subtle touch of the organic to the synths, too. On “Phantom of the Disco” and “Never Get Caught,” there’s less of the old dichotomy of human voice versus the machine than the sense of a band playing together, even if all the instruments are (or sound like they are) electronically generated.

Perhaps it’s not so surprising, then, that Ain’t So Young really takes off when it leans into a more obviously live sound. The drums on the album may be programmed, but Savas, guitarist Nick Post, keyboardist Carrie Martinelli, and bassist Gil Morrison build a living, breathing thing on that foundation. The world is full of giant pop guitar riffs, but on “The Day Rock ‘n’ Roll Died,” “Ain’t So Young,” “Hate Song Pt. II,” and especially the gleefully swinging “Scumbag,” Post finds room for his own strutting jangle. Morrison anchors the band’s sound with a precise, warm bass, while Martinelli’s synths never get too icy.

And out in front of it all is Savas, who gives it his all on every track. His honest approach gives his melodies dynamism and emotion, making sure that when he tells you to get up and dance, you do.

Glamour Assassins is celebrating the release of Ain’t So Young Friday at the Outer Space’s Ballroom, trading up the programmed drums for live drummer Jose Novo. The band will be supported by Mission Zero, Brighter Than A Thousand Suns, and If Jesus Had Machine Guns. A lineup like that promises to be another great night at the much-loved Hamden venue, and one that shows, yet again, how New Haven’s music community is coming together to create acts that could hold their own with the rest of the country.

Ain’t So Young will be released Friday. For more information about release show, visit the Outer Space’s website. - New Haven Independent - Brian Slattery

http://jus423.wix.com/ctsoundmag#!articles/cb30

With Ain’t So Young, the Glamour Assassins remind us of just how much fun music can be when it’s all about the music, not celebrating a thug lifestyle or preaching their idealistic views. If you’re a fan of 80’s glam/pop rock such as The Clash or Duran Duran you’ll find a lot to love in the new release. We had a chance to speak with Jared Savas to discuss the new release and planting his musical roots in New Haven.


You were originally part of the Boston based band Televandals. As most Connecticut musicians complain about our state only being viewed as a pit stop between Boston and NYC, what made you decide to move from Boston to CT? How have you felt the local fan base embrace your talents in the music hub of New Haven?

"There wasn’t really a conscious decision to come to Connecticut to pursue music…sometimes life takes you in directions you didn’t initially plan and you go with it. But you can make great music anywhere. Just because a city like New Haven isn’t as big as Boston or New York City doesn’t mean that there isn’t an amazing well of creativity to draw from here. The bands we’re playing with at our album release show are definitive proof they’re as good as anything Boston or New York have to offer.Because Connecticut’s music scene is smaller than a place like Boston, which had a very visible and accessible indie rock scene, it’s taken a little time to figure out where that exists in this state. But it’s here, and I think it’s clear that Connecticut’s music scene is beginning to realize that Glamour Assassins has something to offer them. "


The album is a very polished piece showing your status as veteran musicians. Are there any particular songs you're keeping an eye out for that you hope will have evolve on stage over time?

"While we’re thrilled with how the album sounds, it’s been very gratifying to see how the songs have already evolved onstage. I think much of that is due to our energy as a live band. Our first single “Phantom of the Disco” is a great example. On the record it’s kind of a polished synth pop vibe but bring it out in a live setting and there’s an added passion and rawness that elevates it. Same thing with our song “Sex Life”, on the album the guitars are edgy and it grooves, but onstage there’s an added intensity that takes it to a place a recording couldn’t do justice. It’s that passion and our desire to evolve sonically that will allow our current songs to remain fresh when played live."


With such high energy and classy hooks fans of what bands do you feel this will immediately appeal to?

"One of the things we like to say in Glamour Assassins is that we aspire to unite the familiar and the future, so ideally we hope to appeal to fans of bands from a lot of different eras. It wouldn’t surprise us if fans of The Clash, David Bowie and the Talking Heads liked us as much as those of more contemporary bands like The Killers, The 1975, Phantogram or Cut Copy. While you wouldn’t always hear some of those bands mentioned in the same sentence, we believe that union of different aesthetics is a huge part of our appeal."


What is it about the 80's Glam/Pop Rock that appeals to the band so much?

"I’m not sure we really went into this with a specific desire to emulate the 80s glam/new wave sound. We love a lot of music from that era but I think the most important goal for us was to write songs that have a timeless appeal and sort of transcend genre. Where Ain’t So Young intersects with 80s glam/new wave is our use of synth hooks and dance beats, and certain songs like “The Day Rock & Roll Died” and our title track do strongly draw from that era. But while we’ll likely retain an element of that 80s vibe going forward, it certainly won’t be what defines our future sound."


Are there any covers from that era the band is partial to playing at their shows?

"We actually don’t play any covers in Glamour Assassins. While we love and respect the music that has influenced us, we want to walk our own path, and I have no doubt we are going to continue to evolve sonically. We don’t want to ever be the kind of band that just settles into a comfortable niche; we would rather keep challenging ourselves and our audience with the music we make. We are very proud of Ain’t So Young and excited for people to hear it, but we also hope it’s just a small taste of what we have to offer as a band in the future." - Sounds Magazine - D.C. Washington

Featured on CMJ's "Download This!" free mp3s - www.cmj.com

Glamour Assassins have a new 9-track indie rock release titled, Ain’t So Young, that will catch your attention if you’re a fan of 80’s pop-rock bands like The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, or Duran Duran. I grew up on 80’s MTV and can tell you that it’s a bit refreshing to get my hands on a release like this. In a day and age where rappers are teaming up with Jerry Seinfeld, bands like Glamour Assassins remind me of how much fun music can be when it’s not beat to a bloody pulp by songs about weed and strip clubs.

Ain’t So Young, has a very consistent flow to it; maintaining that vintage rock sound that made the 80’s an unforgettable era in music. There are a number of songs here that helped Glamour Assassins make a strong case for a pop-rock sound long forgotten. Songs like “The Day Rock & Roll Died” and “Ain’t So Young” say it all with their titles. Built on a sound that still has an audience that has been completely overlooked by the mainstream industry that once catered to it, these tracks – and the full, Ain’t So Young, album – could help Glamour Assassins be the filler where tons of music fans are begging to be fed.

From the vocals to the music and songwriting, every aspect of Ain’t So Young, is evenly matched. There are no odd out of place songs that will throw you for a loop. With Glamour Assassins, what you hear from the beginning is what you get throughout the entire release, which is a very good thing for listeners who are looking for a specific sound that doesn’t deviate from its center. Take a listen to this band’s release and make sure you buy it if you like it. - Shaine Freeman

Glamour Assassins remembers the sounds of the 80s and builds upon them on “Ain’t So Young”. Among their influences are the meticulous New Order and to David Bowie’s 80s glam rock era. This means that they write the kind of songs that stick in the mind long after they’ve ended. Melodies are sweet as sugar, the rhythms downright addictive. By keeping focused on aesthetics they are able to create an album that works best taken in as a whole.

Opening up with “The Day Rock & Roll Died” Glamour Assassins very quickly into a driving rhythm, with the guitars prominent in the mix. New Wave’s distant aesthetics are explored in full on “Phantom of the Disco” sounding remarkably similar to 80s revivalists like Holy Ghost! Hot hot heat rises for the taut work of “Sex Life”. Calming things down and having a bit of a wistful tone is the sweetness of the title track “Ain’t So Young”. Going for a full sound is the energetic work of “Scumbag”. A sense of play informs the song as it serves as one of the most hyperactive songs on the entire album. Clever synthesizer work anchors “Never Get Caught”. Ending things on a high note is the expansive “Hate Song Pt. II (Death or Love).

Far from merely an exercise in nostalgia for the well-remembered 80s, Glamour Assassins take the best of the past and filters it through a prism looking towards the future. What results in an album equal parts dance-friendly and emotionally affecting. - Skope

Debut songs are tricky. There’s a tendency to blow a musical load, to crash the scene and announce an emphatic arrival to the world. But there’s also a need to leave the listener wanting more, and hook them on the comeback.

“Phantom Of The Disco,” the sleek new synth-punk track from New Haven’s Glamour Assassins, does the latter while satisfying initial cravings. It purrs along just under the sonic current, a chant-along chorus riding a new wave over a shimmering synth line. And you could just tell that, in due time, this band is ready to explode with nervous energy.

Boston music fans may recognize some of the players here from bands like Televandals and Dirty Bombs, but they’re not getting caught up in past associations. “It doesn’t matter who we are, how we met or where we grew up,” reads their on-point presser. “No one cares, and we don’t blame them. All that matters is the music.”

More music is en route via debut album Ain’t So Young, due out sometime next year. It was recorded by producer Joey Mascola and mastered by Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Emily Lazar of The Lodge in New York.

Check out “Phantom Of The Disco” below, and catch the Assassins live on Halloween night at Stella Blues in New Haven. - Michael Marotta

New Haven-based dance-punk outfit Glamour Assassins have taken a measured approach in readying their debut LP which speaks to its members veteran status as musicians.

Jared Savas (guitar, vocals) and Nick Post (guitar, vocals) were previously bandmates in the Boston-based electro-punk band Televandals which gained acclaim and opened for national touring bands like Matt & Kim, Dragonette and the Postelles. After that project dissolved, Savas made the move to Connecticut and started conceptualizing his next move.

Savas began writing an album with the working concept of a relationship with music; “including feelings of loss, alienation and self-doubt, followed by resolve and redemption.” With Post in the fold, the earliest iteration of Glamour Assassins held auditions and eventually rounded out to the five piece it stands as today.

With everything, everything, everything, everything in its right place (I couldn’t resist), the band started playing live and announced Ain’t So Young. Speak Into My Good Eye is happy to host the exclusive premiere of the album’s newest single, “Sex Life,” below.

“Sex Life” is a perfect piece of dance-pop-punk serving as an palatable entry into the amalgamation of Glamour Assassins’ myriad influences. The Clash, The Cure, The Killers and Arcade Fire all bubble up in the neo-glam stew the band concocts, with “Sex Life” pulling the best of those band’s energy and ability to craft immediately catchy hooks.

Stream Glamour Assassins’ “Sex Life” below and pre-order Ain’t So Young out August 7th. - Mike Mehalick

"A pair of local artists opened the show. The first was Glamour Assassins, who played a set of dance rock fueled by synthesizers and powerful vocals. The focal point of the set was definitely their debut single, a track called 'Phantom Of The Disco”. - Matt Esposito

Podcast Interview - Native Noise Podast

Indie dance rock is totally a thing and that’s what Glamour Assassins from New Haven, Connecticut bring to the table by combining an edgy guitar-based aesthetic with electronic elements, dance beats and synthesisers. By their own admission, the band brings intensity back to indie rock with a sound destined to stay in your head. This sound that is destined to stay in your head began in 2013 when Jared Savas (guitar/vocals) began working with former Boston-area band mate, Nick Post (guitar/vocals) on a group on indie rock songs that Savas had begun recording earlier in the year. The duo decided to make their project a full band that led to the official formation of Glamour Assassins last year with the addition of Jose Novo (drums), Carrie Martinelli (synthesisers/piano/vocals) and Gil Morrison (bass guitar/synthesisers).

Whilst their music falls under the banner of indie rock, it features elements of dance punk, new wave and synth pop. Drawing on elements from the likes of The Clash, The Cure, Cut Copy, The Killers, Phantogram, Big Audio Dynamite and Arcade Fire to name a few. Whilst elements of all these can be heard in the Glamour Assassins sound, they are only loose comparisons. The best example of this can be heard in the band’s debut track, Phantom of the Disco. The song seeks to place early 80s synth-punk music in a modern perspective. Driven by a pulsating synthesiser-based dance-rock atmosphere, Phantom of the Disco also possesses an anthem-like vocal energy and passion at the same time. Broadly, the track is about dealing with emotional paralysis in the face of isolation and vulnerability. The band loves to leave the lyrics and songs shrouded in mystery so that the individual listener can take something different away from it because after all, people interpret things differently and the band doesn’t want to put ideas in their heads beforehand. The track is lifted from the upcoming debut album, Ain’t So Young. In nine songs, the band loosely explores an intense and often volatile relationship (not a romantic or even personal one) that walks an often blurred line between self-destruction and illumination.

It is Glamour Assassins’ combination of song-writing, musicianship and live energy that sets them apart. They also have an innate ability to blend a variety of related, yet still distinct, musical styles into songs that combine the familiar with the future. Whilst their songs are cohesive with one another, they also contain a lot of sonic variance and differences in feel and song structure. They love nothing more than the immediacy of a catchy, energetic song, but in saying that, they want to make each one something new and original.

Although the band hasn’t been in existence all that long, they had an exciting experience playing with The Pass in New Haven. According to Glamour Assassins, the band is top shelf dance-rock that the New Haven five-piece were lucky enough to play with during their recent US tour. It was an exciting experience for Glamour Assassins as they played to a packed house with a huge number of fans coming to see them play. They still have a lot to look forward to though being a relatively young band. The primary goal is to make this band into a career by becoming a viable national and international act. Glamour Assassins want to take it as far as possible by touring, building a sustainable fan base and releasing albums. At the end of the day though, they simply want to continue to release great music.

Throughout the first four to five months of this year, Glamour Assassins will be releasing new songs as well as a music video for Phantom of the Disco as part of a PR campaign leading up to the release of their full-length debut LP. The band will also continue to expand their live performances into new markets with the hope of a tour at some point as well as pursuing opportunities with indie labels. That is only the start of what Glamour Assassins want to achieve, but being that this year is the first full year that they will be a performing act, their expectations are very high. - Australian Music Network

To fuse separate eras of even a specific genre is no easy task as labels like "copycat" and "nostalgic" (the latter not exclusively bad, of course) get tossed around easily. The late 90's and a good portion of the 2000's saw indie rock bands leaning heavily on 80's synth-driven new wave, forming a sound that felt at much natural and organic as it did overdone and under-cooked (depending on the artists in question). In my sphere of musical influence, this sound has seemed to take a backseat in recent years. Enter Connecticut's Glamour Assassins, a band who very much fit the "retro-indie" vibe aforementioned but with a sharp, anxious punk-fueled mentality that blends modern pop and indie rock with the electronic waves of years past. All of this is done in a way on their debut LP Ain't So Young that speaks more to intelligent songwriting than it does to any cliched "niche" musical mindset.


The five members of Glamour Assassins are all represented equally, and while the synths play a major role in the overall soundscape, there's plenty of room for a variety of apt and fitting vocal work, excellent riffs and a rhythm section that is equal part foundational and shimmering. Practiced with experience in previous groups, Glamour Assassins bring instant chemistry and a frantic flow to these tracks that belies their relative inexperience together. This is so clearly shown on each of the 12 tracks that separating them into high and low points almost seems moot; truly, the variety of tempos and tones is more impressive when you sit down and listen to Ain't So Young from front to back. Lyrical aims at projecting subjective "take it as you will" passages that also contain an objective theme of the trials and tribulations of creating the music itself coalesce behind the grooves and melodies, acting more as a final coat of paint to an already finely crafted piece.


Small complaints are obligatory yet may only apply to myself; as a relative fan of new wave, a tinnier production and mastering process would have been more appreciated, but the modernized work up does lend itself to the old-meets-new mentality. And while the music is incredibly inspired and infectious, the vocals are more par for the course than anything. This seems in balance with what Glamour Assassins are aiming for; dance music that offers enough in the way of cerebral stimulation to keep it from being labeled as dance music. This is fusion done properly, sticking under the skin without forcing itself at any point. It works on enough levels to appeal to fans of each individual element the band brings to the table. - Kevin Sellers