Test Spin: Glasvegas

Across the board, European music critics loved Glasvegas in 2008. In mid-summer, NME named them “The Best New Band in Britain” and by the close of the year, their album had peaked at no. 2 on the UK charts. The singles “Geraldine” and “Daddy’s Gone” as well as the self-titled album by the Scottish foursome, topped quite a few of the British year-end lists.
Their debut album continuously floods speakers with steadily reverberating quarter and eighth notes meant to fill an arena. The only lapse in musical immensity comes when vocalist James Allen sings, “I’m gonna get stabbed” over Beethoven’s classical masterpiece, “Moonlight Sonata”. Ultimately though, it is Glasvegas’ ability to achieve the echo of a massive stadium without the use of concrete walls that has made them into a European sensation.
Similar to the Arctic Monkeys, Muse and Coldplay, Glasvegas may not actually be the best new band in Britian, but they are definitely the next new European thing to arrive on American shores worth a good listen.