Glistening Leotard - 2022 - Alter Ego

(49:26; Glistening Leotard)

Track list:
1. Vascular Access 5:19
2. Gloria 5:07
3. New Dawn 7:34
4. Parabolic Antenna 5:27
5. I Know You Know 5:18
6. Altered Ego 4:27
7. What If 5:22
8. Related Reflections 5:17
9. The Balance 5:35

Line-up:
Andrej Henze - guitars
Ralf Gemein - guitars
Björn Müschen - bass
Arthur Theuring - drums
with:
Marcus Dittrich - vocals
Manuel Franken - vocals
Tom Johannsen - vocals
Kai Steckmann - vocals
Annika Gemein - voice
Lea Lenhart - voice
Noelia Pohl Jimeno - voice


Prolusion.
German band Glistening Leotard have been a going entity for a decade and a bit, and have been steadily recording and releasing material along the way. They are now out with their new album "Alter Ego", which was self released at the start of 2022.

Analysis.
I seem to recall from the previous album by this band that they weren't the easiest to precisely place inside a specific context inside the progressive rock universe, and they do not make that task any easier on their new album either. A fact that in itself obviously says something about the progressive nature of the band I would say. In this case I suspect the description alternative progressive rock should be quite the functional choice, even if the expression alternative in reality is a bit on the non-informative side of matters. But it is a word that does come with some useful associations.

The songs here will by and large explore contrasting arrangements throughout, pairing up a lighter toned and more careful main arrangement with a darker toned more energetic and more intense one, where a clean guitar sound and delicate notes are distinct for the careful phase while guitar riffs and rhythms to match are more typical features of the contrasting passages. We get a fair few transitional phases and phases where the main contrasting passages are combined in some manner or other as well, as one would expect from a progressive rock band.

What makes me attach an alternative expression to this album is due to the manner in which the different songs explore the various contrasting sections here, with arrangements that comes with direct and indirect associations to styles such as funk, ska, post-punk, indie and alternative rock and grunge in between possible references to bands like, for instance, Radiohead and The Police. That we also get sequences with more of an atmospheric laden orientation and a sound not too far removed from a band such as RPWL also merits a mention of course, and while it isn't a part of the vibes that gives this album something of an alternative feel this is also a part of the total experience.

Conclusion.
Glistening Leotard is a creature that is moving it's very own way for sure, and while none of the landscapes explored are all that novel individually, it is the combinations of these different landscapes that presents itself as something that is at least a bit on the alternative side. A band and an album worth a check by those who tend to enjoy progressive rock explored in a bit more of a non-conformative manner.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, March 2022

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/glisteningleotard