Safe Sins, the debut record from Philadelphia band GLADIE, begins with
a prayer: “I close my eyes, pretend to pray/That this shame would
just fuck off today,” sings Augusta Koch, her familiar timbre
floating atop a wave of bleary-eyed synths on opener “Pray.” Koch,
formerly of beloved Philly trio Cayetana, has been working on the 10
songs that comprise Safe Sins for years. They existed first as poems
before being brought to life at The Bunk in Henryville, Pennsylvania,
where Koch (guitar, vocals) recorded with bandmates Matt Schimelfenig
(guitar, bass, keyboard, vocals), Ian Farmer (bass), and Pat Conaboy
(drums). Schimelfenig also produced and mixed the record. The
record’s opener gives way to a rush of guitars and both digital and
analog drums on the spritely “When You Leave The Sun,” a strut in
crisp morning sunlight: “On the bright days, I can see the
light/When the chemicals blend just right,” Koch calls brightly.
It’s followed by lead single “A Pace Far Different,” a
guitar-forward bop haunted by chiming keys and pleas for escape.
Scattered throughout, between wiry guitar melodies, drum triggers, and
cavernous synth patches, are small, insistent mantras: “We give
‘em credit, we don’t owe ‘em that much,” on “Even At Your
Easel,” or the soothing nihilism of “Cosmic Joke,” as Koch
declares, “Everything I lost, I never really had.”
Safe Sins is defined equally by pain and hope, two opposing forces of
human existence. The record acknowledges that on some days, the former
wins; on the good ones, the latter does. But neither are static
endpoints. Both are places we visit often. Gladie are set upon making
sure the path between them stays open, as Koch shouts firmly on
“Twenty Twenty:” “I am angry, I am lonely, but I am optimistic,
too!”
music
1141
Views
08/04/2020 Last update