Mahal

I first heard Glass Beams at the Forwards music festival in Bristol and oh man, they were amazing live. They have the perfect sound to be forced into the ears of giant crowds with massive speakers. After this, I knew I had to check them out and even though they are not as good on streaming as in the festival, they are still pretty good.

Their second EP “Mahal” is an extremely psychedelic album with both Western and Eastern influences that is also reflected in their fashion style. This hypnotising EP takes us through an ethereal soundscape made of smooth guitar riffs, slow drums and other mesmerising sounds.

The title track “Mahal” is a perfect example of this, creating an atmosphere with haunting vocals, fast-paced, plucked Eastern instruments and a dreamy guitar in the background. The chimes as well make the Eastern sound so much more powerful and exciting, fully immersing the listeners. There are also subtle electronic elements such as a soothing synth, which are perfectly disguised to not stop the Eastern soundscape from enveloping the track, but instead just filling in the holes that were left.

“Orb” is another great track, with much more guitar and Western influence than the previous track, but not taking away most of the other dreamy elements. At the end, it takes a much darker tone with a lot of distortion and grungy synths, first being presented on their own when the other instruments faded out and then being incorporated with the other instruments.

This dark atmosphere is continued in “Snake Oil”, where the song starts with a pulsing bass synth, eerie vocals and quite spaced out Eastern sounds. Eventually, the guitar takes centre stage again and again and uses melodies which bear a close resemblance to ones used in the East. There are a couple of times where the guitar fades out and the other instruments all come forward to give a hypnotic pulse, beckoning the audience to come closer. Out of all of the tracks, this is the one that is most meditative because of its incredibly slow nature.

“Black Sand” instantly starts quite a bit more fast-paced with a driving rhythm, soaring guitar lines and twists and turns all over the track. It is extremely similar to “Mahal” and “Orb” with no defining features that are really worth mentioning.

By far my biggest complaint with this EP is the lack of variation throughout. Even with the Western influences in the background adding so much flavour, I still wanted more, especially with how it was the glue that they used on all of the tracks, with only a bit of change (e.g. the overpowering bass at the start of “Snake Oil”).

7.8/10