Year of Glad | via brooklynvegan.com
Stream Year of Glad’s debut EP, out today on Lame-O Records
Punk music is known for its supergroups made up of members that the Average Joe would never know about. But inside their scene, they’re all celebrities.
Enter the Philly scene’s newest supergroup, Year of Glad, who is streaming their debut EP over on over on Stereogum. Its members come from all walks of the punk scene here: Nona’s Mimi Gallagher and 1994!‘s Chris Diehm trade off on vocals, and they’re backed by Mike Harping of Good Luck and Mike Bell from Mike Bell & the Movies.
Year of Glad EP | via https://lame-orecords.bandcamp.com/album/year-of-glad
These musicians came together and made four tracks of punk that’s cutesy, yet just enough to rock your socks off. Go ahead, try to not sing to the ending yelps of “The Shawl” or the oozin’ aahs on “Turn”.
Diehm’s low warble contrasts great with Gallagher’s airy, yet sharp voice, especially on “Umbro Season”, a steady jam with warm, sunspotted chords. On “Flowers”, the band marries straightforward, fuzzed-out melodies with Gallagher’s tale of self loathing: “I got sad and let my flowers die.”
The album’s centerpiece is “The Shawl”, whose chorus and back-and-forth vocals from Diehm and Gallagher sounds like a B-side (and a less moody one, at that) on Pity Sex’s Feast of Love. It also features the best instrumentation, with surfy drum fills and a vibrant mix of acoustic and distorted guitar.
But if there’s anything that can sum up Year of Glad, let Diehm tell you on the opening track: “Just keep on laughing with me.” In a world filled with bands that consistently try to one-up each other in the downer department, Year of Glad has put out something you can sit back and listen to with a smile.
If you don’t already think Philly is one of the current hotspots of punk music, let bands like Year of Glad gladly prove you wrong.
The EP is out today on Lame-O Records.