More bands should tell you exactly what you’re getting into with their song titles when it goes against the norm—like when Phoebe Bridgers goes synthpop I think it would be helpful if her first single was called, like, “Upbeat Phoebe” to let her fans know what’s up. That said, I guess I don’t need to tell you that one of the two new singles from LVL UP offshoot The Glow takes a fairly heavy turn, though instead of stoner rock or metalcore it’s a fairly Glow-like “heavy”: seven minutes of noodling, distortive guitar that almost feels collaboratively improv-y at points even outside of the wailing guitar’s feral wandering. Hoping for a full Heavy Glow EP
The former solo project of Mike Caridi LVL UP is going full-band: The Glow’s two new tracks, “Love Only” b/w “Heavy Glow,” find Caridi joined by his former LVL UP bandmate Greg Rutkin, as well as veteran performers Kate Meizer (Hellrazor, Potty Mouth) and Nicola Leel (Doe).
“‘Love Only’ and ‘Heavy Glow’ are the first two songs written by The Glow, sorta,” says Caridi. “I’ve been releasing music under The Glow moniker since 2016 or so, but until now I’d considered it a solo outlet. The Glow live band came together around the 2019 record Am I, and somehow I got lucky enough to play with a bunch of musicians who I’ve known and admired for years; Greg Rutkin, Kate Meizner, Nicola Leel and Madeline Babuka Black.
To be surrounded by so much talent and not be open to collaboration would have been a major misstep on my part, there’s so much joy in collaboration that I missed a lot while trying to do things on my own. ‘Love Only’ is about reflection and growth; I feel extremely lucky to be playing music with my friends, and with these two songs, The Glow feels like it’s just beginning to bloom.”
Love Only / Heavy Glow out now on Double Double Whammy Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 