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Re-issued & Re-mastered with 20 additional songs and materials.
While “Lo-Fi” as a sub-genre has quietly dissipated into the great tape hiss of the ether, the
Microphones continue to boldly expand and expound upon the possibilities of analog recording…both
at home AND in a studio. The Glow Pt. 2, the third full length album by the Microphones for K and fifth
overall, is a sprawling 67-minute masterwork, a wonder of songwriting and alchemical engineering,
certain to overtake last year’s acclaimed It Was Hot,We Stayed in the Water (KLP116) and earn
Microphones the undisputed title of experimental pop’s Most Valuable Player.
Phil Elverum, the man behind the Microphones’ mask, continues to inspire awe with this genre-imploding
album. The Glow Pt. 2 is the complete package: impeccable songwriting laden with hooks, a widely
varied palette of instrumentation, potent lyrical paintings, and interspersed sound tweaks which serve
to lace everything together. Adopting the title from a song off of It Was Hot…, the theme of fire (all
Microphones albums operate under a predominant theme), referred to as “The Glow”, stitches it’s way
subtly throughout the record. Trusty nylon-stringed acoustic guitar in tow, a journey in sound begins,
treading across psychedelic landscapes and peering across hazy vistas offering panoramic views of
intimate strummings, lilting harmonies, otherworldly cadences, overdriven amplifiers, and confounding
sound experimentations. Humble and delicate pop songs bump up against heroic yearnings and
in-the-red rockers, bookmarked between instrumental interludes. Horns, steel drums, and piano are
new additions to the already advanced Microphones arsenal. And what is that subtle tone which pops
up mysteriously between songs? Merely a recording of a tugboat, which actually manages to burrow
its’ way through the fabric of each of the songs on the entire album, subconsciously sewing the music
together via a common sound element. Astounding.
Comparisons to the Elephant 6 collective firmly aside, The Glow Pt. 2 transcends psyche-pop and lo-fi
tags to blossom as the most actualized and daring album of the Microphones’ young career.
Also available as individual track downloads:
1. I Want the Wind to Blow
2. The Glow Pt. 2
3. The Moon
4. Headless Horseman
5. My Roots Are Strong and Deep
6. instrumental
7. The Mansion
8. (something)
9. (something)
10. I'll Not Contain You
11. The Gleam pt. 2
12. Map
13. You'll Be in the Air
14. I Want to Be Cold
15. I Am Bored
16. I Felt My Size
17. instrumental
18. I Felt Your Shape
19. Samurai Sword
20. My Warm Blood
[BONUS DISC]
1. Where Lies My Tarp?
2. I Felt My Size (acoustic)
3. I Hope You Wish You'd Die
4. I'm Like You, Tree
5. The Glow Pt. 2 (sequel)
6. We're Here to Listen
7. Sleepy Hollow
8. Lanterns (version)
9. Map/Moon (version)
10. The Glow Pt. 2 (version)
11. I Want the Wind to Blow (version)
12. instrumental (version)
13. The Moon (version)
14. Samurai Sword (version)
15. The Gleam Pt. 2 (version)
16. My Roots... (version)
17. I Felt My Size (version)
18. My Warm Blood (humming)
19. You'll Be in the Air (version)
20. The Mooooon (version)
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