Barnets vast and unkempt, beards borderline, threads monochrome and strides super-skinny, Yorkshire’s Glass Caves certainly look the part of a widescreen alt-rock act with arena-sized intent, and in ‘Summer Lover’ they have a single to live up to the signifiers. A soaring tune, bouncy and bracing, it is a reflection on lost sunny days, capturing the feelgood essence of the moment rather than the memories. The tremulous guitar licks, awash with reverb, form a harmonic cloud around a deftly crafted offering where not only is the “Free to be a Fool” chorus damn catchy, but the pop credentials shine throughout, right down to the smart key-change that announces the bridge.
Elsewhere on the EP, ‘Throw Down The Pistol’ doffs its cap to AM-period Arctic Monkeys, and it’s not just the regional vowels; some sleaze-rock guitar riffs and upper-register oohs and aahs cement the likeness. They make a decent fist of it, but ‘This Road’ is a return to what the band do best, accessible midtempo anthems. This one has a bold group-hug of a chorus holding firm against that ethereal reverb. Closing track ‘Safety Man’ initially threatens to be the sort of over-earnest rock ballad you may fear from a group of this ilk, but its twists of tempo and style save it from filler. Shimmering production aside, Glass Caves may not be breaking any boundaries, but theirs is a chart-friendly sphere and ‘Summer Lover’ is a sharp enough song to give them a crack.
Summer Lover is out on Tri-Tone on 2 December
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