Spotlight: Glove Showcases Their Artistic Mystique With ‘Boom Nights’
A BAND THAT CAPTIVATES — Glove masters their discography in which each song and music video is an invitation to their world; a chance to crack into the time capsule they reside in. The band is tied to modern rock for sure, participating in its music scene by touring with acts such as White Reaper, BRONCHO, the Nude Party, and Wavves. Their art is rooted in a mutual love for rock and new wave icons like Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the B-52’s. With each member’s artistic influences and inspirations, the past and present meld together to create punchy rock songs with the synths and glitter reminiscent of the ’80s. And like the decade’s music, Glove’s songs demand a physical response, relaying to their listeners that dancing is OK.
Even the lyrics unfetter the listener — Glove songs are tinged with ambiguity, and that’s what the band wants. They approach songwriting through abstraction, encouraging audiences to interpret their songs in any way.
“It’s definitely more fun to be abstract with things,” vocalist and bassist Justin Burns says. “There's so many songs that convey love, hate, politics — those basic things. It's interesting to stray away from that but not be too isolated.”
This playful ambiguity runs throughout Glove’s debut album, Boom Nights, a collection of songs the band has played on tour combined with new tracks recorded in the studio. Across nine thrilling tracks, Rod Wendt, Brie Deux, Michelle Primiani, and Justin Burns introduce themselves while keeping their mystique intact. The four-piece fosters the spirit and creative nature of a collective, upholding fluidity and insisting there is no set role for each band member. Just when you think you’ve captured the essence of Glove, they switch it up.
The original setup for “Modern Toy” had Wendt on lead vocals and Deux on backup vocals, but when the band recorded the studio version, the decision to switch Deux to lead vocalist shifted the song entirely. The result is a modern riot grrrl anthem that’s simultaneously futuristic and dystopian — in the music video, Deux is clad in a reflective jumpsuit, trapped in a room of silver props for the music video.
“When we started playing it live, we noticed that it had a better reaction,” Wendt explains. “The song was way more powerful.”
The new version of “Personality Change” is another track that exemplifies how Glove is able to remake their sound. The song is expanded to six minutes from its original four and has all the sonic elements the band originally wanted. It’s the most electronic song on Boom Nights, with layers of synths and Burns’ posh vocals. Other standout moments on the album include the cosmic guitars on “Behaviour,” a melodic chorus on “Radio Out,” and heavy rock energy on “Family Trip.”
There’s an ease surrounding the band, from the way they write to the way they perform as they please. But these are no slackers — they’ve gone on many tours and jumped on every opportunity that came their way.
“We toured for a long time on a $2,000 van, no heater, no AC — but that got us from A to B,” Wendt shares. “That got us to shows and then very slowly meeting different people, creative people, photographers, and tour managers.”
Since the band’s conception, the plan was to go on the road — they wrote songs simply because they needed something to perform. After playing some local shows, the band booked a DIY tour with friends and made it happen.
Ahead of a scheduled tour with The Districts, Glove hoped to use their performances to attract the attention of anyone who could support or fund their first album. When the pandemic paused those plans, the band made it to Nashville to record anyway. There, producer Brad Shultz of Cage the Elephant and mixing engineer Jeremy Ferguson helped the band create Boom Nights.
The band’s creative partnership and friendship with Shultz is an attestation to how they’ve built a support system as an unsigned, DIY band. Shultz watched them perform in Nashville and proposed having the band record with him from there.
“We were all drunk —we were like, ‘He’s just saying that!’” Burns recalls.
“But we became good friends and then started talking to him all the time over the phone about music and things,” Wendt adds. Shultz even enlisted the band to open for a Cage the Elephant show. In true Glove fashion, the band did the 13-hour drive and had never considered not playing the show.
Now Glove sets off on tour supporting Nation of Language on March 18, the same day Boom Nights comes out. The band is also working on new music at their home studio in Tampa, Florida.
While a second album may be in the works, Glove’s debut album is available today. And this is a band you’ll want to back sooner rather than later.
“We were all here for 10 days straight just recording demos, writing songs, trying to come up with things,” Wendt says. “So, yeah, you’ll definitely be hearing soon.”
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