The likes of the Loyola community, particularly those looking for their fix of local New Orleans bands, may have mixed-bag opinions of the rock/pop/ psychedelic flow Glasgow presents to the public on their debut album “On Earth.”  

“On Earth” attempts to explore a central concept or theme throughout, most notably on tracks “Black Hole,” “Monkey,” and “Robot,” but the album as a whole sounds like Glasgow simply collected eleven songs to place on an album, and is only tied together with cutting one-liners in different songs such as “You couldn’t handle the pressure/Your confidence failed,”  “You teach (Monkey) how to love/ Not to spit on you,” and  “No man should live alone, so I ordered you over the phone with a personal loan.” 

These lines show that Glasgow may have aimed to trigger their fans’ feelings of anger and resentment from failed relationships.    

Most songs remind the listener of a Saturday night playing Rock-Band with a group of friends — they begin with an up-tempo beat along with a strong baseline and drum pattern. But the band seems to go by the belief that it doesn’t matter what you say as long as you scream,  which is evident by the lack of substance that eight of the 11 album songs showcase.     

One of the three songs that actually shows Glasgow’s potential to write something thought provoking is “Slave.” This song is the anthem for music industry students aspiring to catch their “big break” in the music business. It describes a scenario where band members spending countless in-studio hours writing, performing and recording only to amount to a few local shows in the New Orleans area. 

The line, “Pray on Sunday that one day we’ll get paid to work,” shows evidence that Glasgow hopes that the day will come when their passion for music will eventually pay big, landing them a record deal in the music industry.    

Although this and a few other songs on the album showcase strong writing skills, Glasgow’s main problem is the vocals. The singer, mimicking the painful sounds of Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer, has no vocal range whatsoever, drowning out the incredible skill of the band. Overall, “On Earth” is worth buying if listeners appreciate good beats and a strong bass line, rather than polished singing and songwriting skills.  

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected].