Customer Reviews

Glow

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Back in 1989, as a music mad gal, writing reviews for an underground fanzine, I caught a tune on a local college radio station. It was a song called "I Remember Me" by The Innocence Mission. It was a lovely, breezy track that matched the jangly beauty of sound that was emerging from certain bands who were in a niche between the hippy hop of the Manchester Sound and the budding world of the Seattle scene of the day. I purchased their self titled album ("The Innocence Mission") and snapped my fingers happily to the tracks. Yes, they have The Sundays sound, but one can ponder if The Sundays actually have The Innocence Mission sound, since both groups emerged around the same time. The ethereal vibe and vocals seem to show them to be cousins in style; yet, the similarites end at Karen Paris' vocals - which are about a shade removed from Harriet Wheeler's. However, this is not a comparison on the two groups. They are actually different in rhythm and musical texture.

I've been keeping my fingers in the musical pie for quite a while now, but I admit I lost track of The Innocence Mission, figuring they probably drowned with the said Sundays, or various other groups who bit the dust since. I was surprised, after sampling this lovely album of luscious hooks in the local music store to see they've stayed afloat, and have been making some beauties, thank you very much. Boy, have I been missing the boat.

"Glow" is a musical treasure that immediately starts with a dreamy riff, taking you by the hand for a journey of tunes and floating guitar evoking the feeling of spring fever. "Keeping Awake" kicks of the stream of sound that leads into the Velvet Underground infused "Bright As Yellow", pulsating in a dreamy ramble, over to my favorite track "Brave - a mixture of amazing melodic hooks that take you to certain emotional corners. "There" is another sunny summer day tune that makes you want to lay in a hammock and smell some cut grass and flowers.

This albums provides what I can only describe as drinking cold sweet lemonade on a sun drenched porch, or driving your car with the top down on the first fresh, warm day day in spring. "Glow" was playing on my iPod this morning while riding the subway. The tracks were so bright and beautiful, I think I fell in love with every man I saw.

I'm a big fan of the Sundays, and they are a fairly unique band... it's hard to find music that captures the same ethereal foggy atmosphere of that band. I heard a lot of comparisons to the Sundays when I was reading about the Innocence Mission, and thought that was very intriguing... it's not often bands are compared to the Sundays.

The music is great. The vocals are as good if not better, the guitaring is similar in style and nearly as good, and the overall atmosphere of the music is spot-on. This is the kind of music that takes you to a foggy dreamland, wrapped in a flannel blanket drinking peppermint tea. I love it. If you like the Sundays, you should probably like this too.

Glow was my first introduction to The Innocence Mission. I had heard about them off-and-on for years, but Glow was the first album of theirs that I purchased, and that was in January 1996. Glow is arguably still their most consistently outstanding album. All of their albums have superlative songs, and putting on each new Innocence Mission album for the first time feels like having old friends drop in to visit, but Glow can still grab you from beginning to end more than a decade after its 1995 release. The childhood memories displayed on this album are moving, and lead singer and songwriter Karen Paris paints incredible pictures with an economical use of words that hint at larger vistas.

The album opener, "Keeping Awake," is itself a perfect song. If you've never heard The Innocence Mission before, you may be blown away by Karen's vocals and poetry. Musically, the song communicates peace and calm, but it's the little details that stand out. The imagery is evocative: family members sitting under trees in a dreamed-for tomorrow; a girl dancing into her room; the sense of peace at having everyone home; and, most of all, the sense that "My room is held in someone's arms,/my bed is held in someone's arms." This last little detail -- God holding the speaker's bedroom -- points to the often subtle ways in which The Innocence Mission band members communicate their Roman Catholic faith.

The album moves on from there as Karen paints her watercolor pictures. Yellow/gold is a recurring color in her palette this time around ("Bright as Yellow," "Brave," "Speak Our Minds," "Everything's Different Now," "Spinning"), as are blue ("Keeping Awake," "Happy, the End," "I Hear You Say So"), white ("Happy, the End," "There"), green ("I Hear You Say So") and red ("Bright as Yellow," "Brave"). Collectively, the songs move us through the four seasons of the year. We have recurring characters: Aunt Mary ("Speak Our Minds," "Everything's Different Now") and Harry ("Our Harry," "Spinning"; Harry is also almost definitely the one spoken to in "I Hear You Say So" and less certainly the one addressed in "That Was Another Country"). We are also introduced to Junie and Georgia, as well as other unnamed companions.

All of this adds up to a richly detailed portrait of growing up in middle-class America at a time when major changes are seen in the lives of friends. Our speaker feels trapped by fears and her inability to both reach out to others ("Bright as Yellow") and trust God ("Brave"). In contrast, one friend, Harry, is able to reach outside himself: he's going to join the Peace Corps in the summer("Our Harry"). This troubles the speaker, who doesn't want to lose Harry ("Spinning," arguably "That Was Another Country"). She and her other friends, meanwhile, face their own sadness ("Speak Our Minds") juxtaposed with times of healing ("Happy, the End"). This, of course, is just the lot of ordinary life, and such conditions require perseverance ("Go"). Such perseverance is needed not just in their relationships with other people, but God as well ("There"). In the end, Harry apparently does leave in the summer, "reaching out" to others through the Peace Corps work, but the speaker now has peace about his leaving ("I Hear You Say So").

Lyrically and musically, The Innocence Mission give us this non-linear story with talent and creativity. Karen has one of the most beautiful voices around, and her husband Don, Mike Bitts, and (now ex-band member) Steve Brown are all talented musicians. The music is often ethereal. Glow also may be so successful partially due to the talents of Dennis Herring, who was arguably their best producer.

In any case, don't pass over Glow. You'll be missing out on a rich, emotional work if you do. The early Innocence Mission albums have been going out of print recently, so this one may not be with us (under the A&M label, at least) for much longer.

The music and lyrics on this album are sumblime. The lyrics are the kind that you quote on the inside covers of personal journals and in letters to people you hold dear. I find that the album is best listened to lying on the floor with your eyes closed. Nothing cheesey or canned about it. Mmmm...

I need to explain myself before I can explain my love for this album.

I often feel down because there are a great number of "little kid" experiences I have missed out on, for a number of reasons. I still want to live those experiences before moving on to a more adult lifestyle. (I am in my 20's.) So there is a sense of hopelessness and of hurtling away from youth and innocence and G-rated fun and being resigned to hanging out in bars and singles clubs for my social life.

GLOW is the type of album that gives me hope. You hear the IM, and Karen Peris angelic, little-girl-who-knows-about-the-world-but-clings-to-youthful-joy-anyhow voice (a voice that is somehow actually getting HIGHER over time), and you picture brothers and sisters and cousins and friends playing flashlight tag in the backyard, or frolicking in the tire swings (as in the cover art), or running home from grade school to hug the family pet.

When you're feeling like hope is slipping away, you hear "Brave", and it seems like the band stopped by and played that just for you, just because you are their friend and they care deeply and sincerely about how you are feeling. "Spinning" implies a desperate yearning to know and to experience the world, and I'm fully on board with them there, too.

With the IM you get the best of all worlds: the writing of youth and childlike emotion, but in a lyrical style that selects just the right diction for the occasion.

There are few if any albums I would recommend more, without any reservation.

Brian

I have owned this CD since it came out in 1995 and it still frequently resides in my home and auto cd players. It is an incomparable record. On my deathbed, I want a good book, a cat sleeping at my feet, and Glow playing on my stereo. I was also happy to see there was another reviewer from San Antonio. You wouldn't be my husband, would you? Nobody I talk to around here has heard of this group. What a shame. Everyone raves about Karen's voice, and I wholeheartedly agree, but it is her lyrics that get under my skin. They always evoke vivid images and feelings. "Oh, I'm near to sleeping, I'm keeping awake, hearing your voice in the house..." "And I do not want to be a rose. I do not wish to be pale pink, but flower scarlet, flower gold. And have no thorns to distance me." "And the birds of all your yellow teacups sing, and you know this hymm." "We will squint into the sun, waving madly at the camera..." "And we'll dance through yellow yards, like a dress on the line, closing our eyes, losing this: I know nothing about so many, too many things." The closeness Karen & Don Peris feel to their families is so tangible. Their music is soothing and uplifting, sad and hopeful and joyous. I just really love this band.

Innocence Mission is one of the best mellow folk/rock groups you can own. "Glow" is practically a sequel album to their first self-titled one, another 5 star effort. Karen Peris has one of the most gorgeous voices in the biz. If you enjoy swirlingly produced music with gorgeous female vocals, you will not be sorry with any of Innocence Mission's releases (save for Umbrella, which is merely 3 stars, by my count). If you're still feeling uncertain about IM (since you never hear them on the radio), try Natalie Merchant's OPHELIA. Innocence Mission makes 2 guest appearances on that album, and the 2 tracks might as well have been off "Glow" or "The Innocence Mission" albums.

This is one of the more enjoyable, consistent Innocent Mission albums. Compared to albums like 'Small Planes' and 'Birds/Neighborhood', this album sounds like it was produced with more of a contemporary pop sound, with numerous catchy and upbeat songs. All of the tracks are enjoyable and this makes a great start album for anyone new to this group.

I see a lot of comparisons of the innocence mission to the sundays but they are of the same dream pop genre as mazzy star and share so much more. compare for yourself and see. Listen to Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval sing "fade into you", "flowers in december" and "halah"
then go back and listen to IM's "bright as yellow". There both really good bands.

Put simply, "Glow" is a beautiful record. Beautiful in obvious ways like the shimmering, twinkly guitars, the brushed drum sounds or the sheer emotion of the vocals. It's also beautiful in subtle ways like the homespun poetry about family turning in for the night, musing over the distance of a friend, admiration of someone's gregariousness and the simple, everyday joy of meeting your loved one as they come home from work. Sonically and lyrically, "Glow" is beautiful.

Karen Peris has a gorgeous, if unique and acquired taste of a voice, and guitarist Don Peris creates these swirly, bell-like guitar lines that dance and lull at the same time. Standout tracks are the Mazzy Star-esque "Bright As Yellow", the syncopated and dreamy "That Was Another Country", and the bass-driven jangle of "Everything's Different Now".

The Innocence Mission have been compared to The Sundays and Natalie Merchant...I guess that fits as far as general comparisons go, and most fans of one generally go to the others. However, IM really has a sound all their own. It's hi-fi without overproduction, full of faith without being preachy, and simple without being quaint or trite. In other words, beautiful.