Glenarvon Album Review

Idle Thrashing

Release Date
August 28, 2022

Label
Independent

Genre
Idle Thrashing is an album that includes genres of alt rock, hard rock, and grunge.

Rating
9/10

First Thoughts

Daytona State College alumni Derek Brown, and his band Glenarvon, have released their latest album, Idle Thrashing. While their 2021 album, Smashing Idols, is an ode to the rock of the 60’s and 70’s, Idle Thrashing salutes the great alt rock and grunge bands of the 90’s, like Nirvana, Weezer, Sound Garden and many others. If I found this album in a record store back in the 90’s, it would have seen many spins on my player.

Review

On first listen, what blew me away was the clarity of the production on the album. The production quality on this album is slightly better, in my opinion, than what you normally hear in rock music. Brown’s skilled and passionate singing assist the instrumentation in paying homage to 90’s rock. Even in the more emotional songs, Brown sounds like he’s having fun behind the mic. Guitars are punchy, bass is electric, and the drums are bouncy with rattling snares. There’s a purity to this album that I respect very much. This album represents rock that could have been played in the 90’s that sounds no different from the Nirvana’s of that time.

The opening track, “I’m in the Same Spot Again,” starts the album off with slick guitars and bombastic drum passages creating an alt rock banger. Brown takes an introspective view into his career, questioning whether this is where he wants to be in music, believing he is the same spot again. Being able to hear Brown’s frustration in his voice is very intense and shows how emotional his singing is.

The following song, “Don’t Ask for Too Much, Dear” is another anthem of self-awareness, where Brown is setting a tone of annoyance from a clingy love interest. Singing lines such as “I’ll watch you burn, so don’t ask for too much dear,” threatening to cut ties with this person. Another display of punchy guitars, slick bass passages, and bumping drum lines that screams 90’s rock.

“Roche (Bad Blood)” begins with a boisterous guitar passage, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, along with Brown experimenting vocally, then transitioning back into a groove as the song progresses.

Towards the middle of Idle Thrashing, the band delivers harder and grungier cuts on the record with “I Don’t Believe in Man” and “Rarely in a Moment,” where Brown questions the religious beliefs he was raised on. Brown seems to be going into these songs acting as his own therapist and allowing the answers to come to him.

The medal for catchiest song on the record goes to, “I Wanna Give You My Love,” where Brown sings his head off over a blaring instrumental. This track is a perfect culmination of the sounds on Idle Thrashing.

“Touch Her Again”, while a decent tune, sounds too much like a modern rock song for my liking. The closing track, “Ephemera,” is a psychedelic wonderland and a great end to an album that any rock fan, new or old, could appreciate.

Final Thoughts

Rock music is in an interesting place right now with 90’s alt rock resurging, grasping onto the genre as a whole right now. Glenarvon is taking advantage of this resurgence and created an album that could span generations. In my opinion, Idle Thrashing may be the pinnacle of rock music in 2022.

My favorite song is “I Wanna Give You My Love”.

My least favorite song is “Touch Her Again”.

Steven Wease is a staff writer.