Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/21/2007
San Antonio emo kids
the Panic Division return with their second album,
Songs from the Glasshouse, a clear step beyond the basic pop-punk of their debut. Some parts of that album hinted at a new wave/synth pop influence, but
Songs from the Glasshouse takes that sound and runs with it. But where most bands working from the template of
MTV-era synth pop take their cues from groups like
Duran Duran or
Depeche Mode,
the Panic Division are directly influenced by a different and much less frequently revived strain of '80s pop. Buried deep in the last third of this hour-long album is a completely sincere soundalike cover of
Mr. Mister's 1985 hit
"Broken Wings," one which in this context makes clear this overwrought, melodramatic song's place as one of the unacknowledged building blocks of emo. Similarly, the rest of
Songs from the Glasshouse takes most of its ideas for arrangements, production, and song structure from other slabs of earnest and somewhat cheesy synth rock albums from the same period, such as
Tears for Fears'
Songs from the Big Chair and
Simple Minds'
Once Upon a Time: heavily processed guitars à la
U2 mixed with prominent synth lines and booming, reverb-heavy drums.
"Your Satellite" and
"Stay" in particular would fit perfectly on the
VH1 Classics play list without a second thought. Singer
Colton Holliday commits to the sound thoroughly, sounding more like the stentorian likes of
Bono or
Simple Minds'
Jim Kerr than the darling sons of
Eddie Vedder who populate the majority of emo bands. Still, much like
Vampire Weekend's blend of
Paul Simon's
Graceland and
Haircut 100, it's hard not to hear
Songs from the Glasshouse as an expression that the '80s revival is starting to run out of things to plunder.
~Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
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