The Glitch Mob

The Glitch Mob released its newest album, Love Death Immortality, today, marking the group’s sophomore effort since its 2010 debut release, Drink the Sea.

For those unfamiliar with The Glitch Mob’s aesthetic, one of the group’s strengths has been its unique song construction.

Love Death Immortality, however, is more grounded in mainstream EDM stylings than the discordant beats and unique sounds that characterized The Glitch Mob’s first album.

It is clear that Love Death Immortality was intended as nothing short of a electronic symphony, and The Glitch Mob’s lush soundscapes are orchestral in their arrangements, with the beginning strains on opening track “Mind of a Beast” setting the tone for the rest of the album.

The album represents a shift away from the more minimal melodies that characterized Drink the Sea and is fully immersed in the kind of full-bodied sounds heard from more popular EDM artists.

It is not just the production on Love Death Immortality that draws from the current EDM scene; vocals, such as the ones featured on “Our Demons,” should appeal to fans of more mainstream EDM. Featuring Aja Volkman, the track utilizes the repetitive, falsetto sounds that characterize a large number of EDM cuts released every year.

Though the repetitive patterns and vocals might entice more EDM fans than non-fans, the darkness and “cool factor” of the Glitch Mob’s sounds should also find fans on the fringes of mainstream music, albeit for only a couple of.

The production on cuts such as the single “Can’t Kill Us” and opening track “Mind of a Beast” is dynamic and compelling, and is worth a listen. Listeners will come away with an understanding of the artistic sensibilities and production capabilities that The Glitch Mob showcased on Drink the Sea, and has potential for inclusion on late-night dark electronic playlists.

These tracks not only showcase what The Glitch Mob is capable of creatively, but also warrant repeated listens, as the song constructions are dynamic enough to hold a listener’s attention again and again.

The stylings on the majority of the tracks on Love Death Immortality might be grounded in the kind of pulsating chords and hard-hitting beats that characterize many of the more well-known artists within EDM. The Glitch Mob, however, utilizes glitch and techno stylings to make their music just a little more different than the average EDM fare.

The driving beats and frenzied synths which build up and drop frequently during tracks are exemplary of the sound of the entire album. As Love Death Immortality progresses, interest level waxes and wanes for the listeners who are not as invested in EDM stylings of music.

Tracks such as “Skytoucher” are unremarkable in their production and development and easily fade from memory as they rely on synth chords and rhythm constructions that are used by many electronic artists in the scene today.

The vocals on cuts such as “Fly By Night Only” add nothing to the sonic mix of the track and could be featured on any vaguely electronic Top 40 track.

Whether these small differences make Love Death Immortality worthy of a full listen depends on how appealing the genre is to the listener.

Love Death Immortality might still draw on production ideas heavily featured on Drink the Sea, but it represents an unquestionable departure from the general sonic soundscape that The Glitch Mob has become known for off of their first album.

This shift will be sure to gain The Glitch Mob a larger fanbase. This change, however, also guarantees a drop off of returning listeners who were expecting the same kind of music that Drink the Sea brought to the electronic scene.

For the listeners who are passionate about the EDM scene, this album will represent an offering of new sounds that melds foundational EDM soundscapes with the glitchy synth sound that makes The Glitch Mob the group  it is.

For returning fans, and for new listeners looking for sounds closer to the fringes of EDM, Love Death Immortality will be nothing new in the constant barrage of electronic music and represents a disappointing transition into the mainstream for The Glitch Mob.