Customer Reviews

Life in the So Called Space Age

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard about GLU a couple of years ago when this album came out. The first time I heard it I was astounded. The music is a perfectly blended combination of Depeche Mode on 'roids, electronic beats and noises, and industrial guitar riffing. The Intro builds up and segues into "Rearranged," a powerful anthem that turns up the intensity. "The Rush is Loud" amd "Dress Rehearsal For Reproduction" follow in much the same vein as "Rearranged" with loud, powerful choruses. "Medicated to the One I Love" is a little too long, but it works for the first 5 minutes and the last 3 minutes. This album will appeal to fans of guitar-based rock and electronic music along the lines of Depeche Mode, KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Stabbing Westward, and Gravity Kills. Recommended.

this album shocked me. i've never heard about this band before i found their song on a [Tribute to Depeche Mode] album - and it was the best song on the album (except Smashing Pumpkins of course!!!) whole album is the same. sounds-rarities, electronic and live instruments fusion. vocals are not the best although. last three songs reminded me Depeche Mode melodies and atmosphere but it was MUCH MORE better and non-pop than old mainstreamful DM. progressive electronic/ex-grunge people should buy this.

this CD is definately quality, if not quite as good as empty. the 2 are hard to compare though, life in the so-called space age is almost a different style for them. i definately recommend this CD, its the best cd i've ever heard if i'm buzzing from random things. as for the guy who said "listen to STP or Metallica," you definately won't like this CD if u listen to just one set type of music. but if u have an appreciation for different types and a good taste of what's crap and not then you'll really like this CD, its different, very good. i like the guy's analogy to a swim on a breezy day; i'd agree. like others i'd give it 5 stars except there's a 20 minute segment at the end that's no fun to listen to. the other songs are 5-star quality tho

I was worried I would be dissapointed by GLU's third album; I didn't think they could consistently kick - but I was wrong! GLU still has surprisingly skillful and poignant lyrics, phat beats, and awesome use of industrial guitar. If you liked GLU before, you'll love this album

That's what this is. This record is ahead of its time, for a band from the US that is. The rest of the word has already explored this area of music, most not as good as this record, but been there nonetheless. Without distraction from the review, let's just say that the music scene in the US has been stagnant ever since a little band by the name of Nirvana came by and showed us what music was all about.

Moving along - this album is a great listen. It's very honest - some of the lyrics really paint a detailed picture of losing yourself to drug addiction and loss. Medicated to the One I Love, for instance honestly states that heroin is very addictive but also very powerful. Alone Again is a rejection of being lonely. It's a very aggresive track, where the singer is simply lonely.

But the honest lyrics are one aspect of this record - the music is the other. The music is carefully crafted - almost polished in production. Some records can suffer from over-production, but it's in production that god lives underwater really shine. There are little tones and sounds that were put in during production that make the tracks. This isnt just a rock record - this is a new way to make music. God Lives Underwater are building on their influences. They are making a new sound.

It's appaling at how overlooked this album is. Some even give it a bad review just because it wasn't as 'heavy' as their previous album. I think that is just wrong. Give this album a listen. You will find an absolutely classic piece of music making. Fans of Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails and even some Radiohead will love this record.

Some stand out tracks, however all the tracks on this album are very good - but some are just downrite mind blowing are:

Rearrange - it's got this great beat and electronic sound - also a great atmospheric sound in the background.

From Your Mouth - so honest and so simple, but yet listen to this track - it' one of the best you will every here, simply beautiful melody.

Can't Come Down - lovers of Pink Floyd this is the track for you, really lush.

Medicated to the One I Love - this is my favorite track on this album, simply stunning, very Depeche Mode sounding - but this tracks hits all of your senses - it's like a feeling more than a piece of music. It has to be heard.

Thats the greatest thing about this album, it has to be heard - it was so dismissed when it came out, but give it a listen - you will find yourself loving every bit of it.

I never was a big fan of this group. Until one day I bough the cd out of a whim, and mostly because I couldn't find what I wanted to buy. Like many of my favored CD's such as Tool, or Dj Shadow, I did not like the cd at first, but I found that it slowly grew on me as I listened to it.

The CD starts rather caustic, with a hardcore rush of 'Rearrange' which sounds more like some sort of perverted early Black Sabbath song, which isn't a bad thing. While the 'Radio-Play' song 'From your Mouth' is entertaining and fit for public consumption, I find that it may be the weakest track on the CD. However, tracks like 'Can't Come Down' and 'The Rush is Loud' really show off the brillance of this group.

The songwriting both musically and lyrically is good and the production is clean yet noisy enought to fit the Genre. Additionally, through the haze of effects and samples, it makes this a surprisingly challenging listen, with the ear finding new countermelodies, effects, buried vocal lines and samples with each listen.

Much like the later age Grunge CD's such as Soundgarden's Superunknown, this Cd comes on the tail end of the older school of Industrial-Rock. However, much like Superunknown this may be the best crafted cd of this Genre.

Unfortunately, since most of this CD is not fit for Radio, it may be one of the best CD's that no one's ever heard.

Waiting for the new Nine Inch Nails? Try this one: Highly listenable, strangely mellow, GLU offers the listener a potent, eclectic mix of electronic grooves and loud dubby drums. This album is at once reminiscent of the great wave of metal-electronic hybrids of a few years ago, yet simultaneously conscious of the new turntable sound so popular today. This album is artistically credible, and strangely catchy. I'm glad I bought it.

Somehow this band has managed to get lumped with a lot of post Nine Inch Nails industrial-rock bands, but I don't think this band, at least on this album, is similar to bands like Stabbing Westward and Gravity Kills at all. This album in comparison to ones like Stabbing Westward's Wither, Blister, Burn & Peel is much more focused on the electronics, and I think that gives it more variety and a totally different sound.

If I had to compare it some other bands, I'd say that it sounds like a combination of The Crystal Method and Depeche Mode, and NIN is also obviously an influence, but this is far from a rip-off. There's also a lot of cool digital effects put on the guitars, particularly on Dress Rehearsal for Reproduction. The album's first two actual songs, Rearrange and From Your Mouth, are the definite highlights, but the album stays pretty strong all the way through. The song Happy is another standout track, and it begins with just the acoustic guitar, a drum machine, and Dave Reilly. My only complaints are that there's only 10 actual songs and the white noise after the last song is a bit annoying and pointless.

If you're having doubts about checking it out after reading bad reviews, just ignore it. I put off buying this album for years, because of the negative scores people gave it here on Amazon, and now I really love it. I think people like E. A. Solinas, who has had the spotlight review for a long time, are missing the point of this album. It may feel a bit mechanical at times, but that's the point. The title of the album is very appropriate, and I think that the duo tried to and succeeded in creating a view of a futuristic world. Is this album fun? Sometimes, but certainly not on every song, and they weren't even trying to make a fun album. Similar to the aforementioned Depeche Mode, this band is focused more on expression than making fun, dancable music. I also had no problems with the vocals.

If you're into bands like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails than I'd definitely recommend this album to you. Don't believe the (bad) hype!

Empty was great, but the lyrics lagged slightly behind their original sound. Most of the songs were about lonliness and angst, which isn't bad. But the lyrics lacked depth when the music seemed to call for a bit more eloquence. Although this CD has the post-relationship track, "Happy," it does not detract from the CD as a whole. In fact, it's a very good song. And I was very pleased to see an experimental, extra-long piece at the end. Overall, this is a more balanced, better-produced, and better-written album! Let's hope GLU sticks together and continues their work in progressive electronic music. Besides Eno, Moby, NIN, and a few others, they are the only ones really doing it right now.

Clearly, with one listen, you'll realize the superiority of this piece of music. True artistry and expression is evident in this intoxicating mix of electronic, thrash, emo and trip hop. ...

Goes well w/ a blunt, a couple hits or even a six pack of high life. Try cruising at night one fine summer evening when it has rained earlier in the day and the streets are illuminated by the water's reflection w/ the lights around you. And crank this CD in your stereo. Leave the high life at home, of course.