Come As You Are – Glasvegas

In 2008 a hot new indie band from Scotland called Glasvegas came hyped from the music press as something really special. Now they’ve featured here before with one of their breakthrough songs. I reviewed Geraldine and emoted, copiously.

They were special. This band put out a self titled album that was complete and perfectly realized. It had a stark woodcarving monochrome sleeve and a wall of sound that reverberated around a four walled world as if there was nothing else.

Just as powerful a piece of music as that throat lump inducing single, is their ‘Cats In The Cradle’ by way of ‘Psycho Candy’ early release Daddy’s Gone. Originally put out a year earlier to little more than industry acclaim it got a re-release after the album and Geraldine had made waves. This time it came with ‘a big news for this week’ cover version on the B-side.

Their influences were clear early on. They loved The Jesus And Mary Chain, They loved Phil Spector and they loved Nirvana. Not the noisy chaotic Nirvana (or not just that) but the melodic mood setting Nirvana that decided to follow the lightning rod single Smells Like Teen Spirit with a low rumbling piece of beat poetry like Come As You Are.

“Come as you are as you were, as I want you to be, as a trend, as a friend as a known enemy”

Glasvegas don’t play a straight cover though. They lead with drum fills not the bass-line. Their echo and their reverb is way up. The pace though? That stays the same as the Nevermind or the Unplugged take.

When James Alan swears down that he doesn’t have a gun over and over at the end of the song… well, I can’t help but think that now guns have been brought in to the equation the likelihood is someone involved in this record has one.