For full transparency, this album is part of yk Records, of which I own and operate; so my bias is clear cut. With that out of the way…

There’s plenty to say about Rollum Haas as a Nashville musician. He’s a member of Coupler and lylas, plays with Tristen, Soccer Mommy and has even toured with Brendan Benson. Oh, and he was a member of The Features for over a decade. Not one to rest on his laurels, Haas has a solo endeavor called The Robe. On record, it’s just him in the studio writing and recording everything. Live, he and his wife Katie play a combination of samples, loops and guitars.

The lead track from the forthcoming album debuted over on The Cream awhile back but now we’ve got the official video for the same song. Directed by Cody Newman and featuring a pleasing combination of performance shots of Haas and slow motion face punching.

The track is nearly 5-minutes in length, which may seem like an odd choice for a debut single but it sets the stage for the contents within the forthcoming, June 21st, full-length record. More on that later but, in the meantime, enjoy this video.

There’s something invasive about hearing song demos. It gives a contextual look at the minimal scaffolding of a particular song but it also provides a stripped down, bare bones, version that often emphasizes the emotion of a song better than the final version. That’s a subjective take of course, most songs get fleshed out and detailed in a way that makes them more enjoyable than a bedroom take but that’s an argument for another day.

Erin Rae’s Putting on Airs was released back in June of 2018 and is a layered and emotive hybrid of classic country with a twinge of psychedelia. In May of 2019 she released the The 4-Track Demos, a collection of early takes done as acoustic, bedroom demos. As you’d suspect, they are more lo-fi in production and missing most of the flourishes of their ultimate counterparts but there’s a shocking amount of depth here for a demo. There are plenty of harmonies in place and the emotional intent behind the songs is front and center. Much to their credit, these recordings are enjoyable on their own; not just as comparative material.

Plenty of starting musicians post their demos when they’re starting out as it may be the only recordings that they have to represent themselves at the time but Rae makes a case here that giving fans insight into your process, even once you’re established, can be downright delightful.

Before embarking on a full review of repeat repeat‘s latest full-length release, Glazed, it should be made clear that I’ve listened to 2017’s Floral Canyon, 2014’s Bad Latitude and all the singles in between many many times. This is not so much to establish that my bias is that of long-standing fan but, rather, as someone that has voluntarily enjoyed everything they’ve released; even those lost to the fickle history of the Internet.

Glazed is the second release from the band on Dangerbird Records and the first to be produced by Patrick Carney of the Black Keys. From the first moment the lead single “Hi, I’m Waiting” starts to play, it is clear that the band has opened themselves up to new styles. If you’ve been paying attention for any amount of time, that should come as no surprise. Early releases leaned hard into a Surf Rock hybrid, where more recent releases dabbled in Bombastic Dance Rock (don’t believe me? Go back and listen to “Animal”). Glazed softens the bands lean into a particularly distinct genre but maintains their laser focus on high-energy, memorably catchy, pop songs.

“Apocalyptic” is an absolutely elated bopper of a love song told through the lens of the end the world. “I Could Hear My Heart Beating” is one of the tensest moments of the record, seemingly told through clenched teeth and a thousand yard stare. “Can’t Shake This” is the closest the band has ever been to The Faint, minus the vocoder but rife with neck swerving grooves.

Every track on the record could have some absurd, overly sincere, description attached to them but that’s simply credit to the visceral reactions they stir. It’s not about the style of the guitar as much as it is how captivating the song is. Glazed has that in spades. Treat yourself to multiple listens at high volume to get the full experience.

It’s a lazy tendency for music journalists (and fans) to hold a recent release up to prior releases to see how they compare and contrast. If you loved the previous album, how will you feel about the newest album? However, the question to be asking is, if you loved all of the prior releases, how will you feel about the newest album? Fortunately, the answer is You Will Feel Great.