Glen Strachan ... 8 Love Rivals By Steve Rudd

It's hard to believe that British singer-songwriter Glen Strachan used to front Uxbridge-based Alt.-rockers The Bed, but it's true. The music that he's producing these days is a far cry from when bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins were influencing him to pump up the volume, because the eight bewitching songs that grace his latest album, the appropriately titled 8 Love Rivals, are gloriously bittersweet tunes that totally eschew the art of grungy-rock.

Having said that, a certain degree of malice manages to permeate such tenderness, with Glen once again proving that he's not your average songwriter. Indeed, Glen Strachan is a cunning, forward-thinking, boundary-pushing master of reinvention who invests his wry sense of wit in his lyrically astute songs. A storyteller through and through, these new songs might be best described as compelling Alt.-Folk tales with a twist, masterfully crafted by default.

Alex Chen opens affairs, and it's a beautiful lament, a lush acoustic guitar melody paving the way for a lilting blast of recorder as Glen whimsically croons about 'blue skies and lunchbox apple pies.'

Immediately, the listener can't fail to be drawn into Glen's extraordinary musical vision, especially when the paranoia-inducing piano lick of track two rumbles forth. Blessed with a beautiful bridge and yet another sublime recorder melody, it's a less innocent tale in which Glen talks of hitting booze and riding the monorail in circles. Incidentally, Glen moved to Germany last year and has been living it up in Berlin ever since.

In light of the German capital being such a hub of creativity and stark originality, it's understandable that Glen has darted off at something of a musical tangent, even if the music he's writing now does bear quite a bit in common with the charming tweeness of some of the material he penned and performed with England and The April.

Moving on, Simon Rowe proudly boasts a truly gorgeous piano melody that cascades in style, with a wave of sensational, unique vocal harmonies rendering such a tune totally unforgettable. Iva Vs. The Tram subsequently goes on to prove that Glen is certainly no charlatan when it comes to being offbeat in every respect, especially since some extraordinarily offbeat percussion anchors the acoustic nature of the tune. Track five also features a stunning melody with a relatively heavy bridge, yet not for the first time Glen's stint on his recorder steals the show.

Track six is arguably the coolest cut present of all, and the funniest. Barreling forth with something of a bluesy edge, Lars Gets Naked can't fail to delight as Glen's pacy, finger-picked guitar melody stampedes towards a hugely catchy chorus via choice lyrics which refer to his friend Lars as a 'crazy naked angel' with tongue-in-cheek glee.

And Glen's deftly poetic way with words doesn't stop there, for he goes on to sing, 'There'll be no chickens, but one lonely Koch,' cleverly making reference to Lars' surname by way of his inimitable wit. Are You Breathing? presents a different kettle of fish entirely. A guitar-based number with a cool backbeat, it's both soulful and intriguing as Glen implores: 'Stop reading that bible… it's not a toy.' Last but certainly not least, the laid-back Richard Hate Goes To The Cinema proves to be one of the most outstanding tunes of all on 8 Love Rivals.

A gem of a melody married to some seductive backing vocals conspires to make this song the most fitting end imaginable to what is an astounding collection of songs.

Abstract, arty, and emotive in equal measure, 8 Love Rivals also manages to be melody-rich and lyrically intriguing at all times. Glen's vocals have never sounded better, while his ambitious and complex arrangements go a long way to show just how talented a singer-songwriter he is. In spurts, Glen's material might remind some people of Chris T-T's music, but to compare the music of Glen Strachan to any other artist's music is really a futile exercise. Put simply, there is nobody out there who makes divine music like Glen Strachan: an irrefutable fact which should hasten one and all to check out his website at www.myspace.com/glendabed without delay.

Copyright © Steve Rudd 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Steve Rudd
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