The Microphones - The Glow Pt.2

K Records

The Glow Pt. 2 is The Microphones, Phil Elverum's, third studio album. A staple of Lo-Fi and Indie realms, The Glow Pt. 2 stands alone in its field of excellence. A unique experience unto its own. You aren't going to find another album like it, I promise.

Great albums, in a similar way to great books, welcome the audience into their world offering a break from what we call reality. A respite from the day to day existence and playing out of the same old song. Existing within these worlds are sights and sounds rather foreign to the human psyche but the underlying emotion is, of course, deeply rooted within each and every one of us. These worlds teeter on the edge of tangibility. A somewhat uncanny liking to the known while remaining just out of reach, out of the grasp of further understanding. The Glow Pt. 2 is a great example of experimental music that doesn't venture too far from shore. Compared to a pop track it's hieroglyphics, for sure, but when you get down to the meat and bones of the material there are umpteen occasions where pop magic occurs. The most lush of melodies and rhythms unearth themselves from under the rubble to let the listener know there is a rhyme and reason to it all.

The Glow pt.2 is part of a club that bends and distorts what we would call conventional beliefs. The moral fibers of what we think is normal, Twin Peaks did this well in the on screen world, are stretched and bent beyond interpretation in some cases. Ripping reality into ribbons. These works are essential in the development of ideas and the world of art in general. Works that show where things can be taken to. Leading the way, flashlight in hand. The front runners for timeless material.

If your introduction to Phil Elverum was last year's 'Microphones in 2020' then you may be a bit taken back by The Glow Pt. 2 and its all encompassing, on the edge of insanity, sonic scope. Stick with it, it's worth every second, I promise.

September 25th, 2001.