ALBUM REVIEW: Life Is Not A Lesson – Glitterer

Everyone seems to be getting shorter attention spans these days. We’re multi-tasking more than ever. We look at our phones, watch a bit of TV, and then back to our phones. The cycle repeats. How can someone take time to listen to an entire album? Thankfully, GLITTERER seems to have the answer. Despite there being twelve songs on his album, Life Is Not A Lesson, they are all extremely short. The shortest song on the album is one minute and thirteen seconds long. The longest song on the album is two minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Has GLITTERER cracked the code for the album to hold people’s attention spans?

Bodies packs a lot into its one minute and forty-eight second run time. Starting off with a a guitar riff before the vocals kick in, GLITTERER (real name: Ned Russin) introduces himself to the audience with a bang. Grabbing you ears first, and demanding your attention, the energetic first song does not feel too rushed.

Are You Sure? follows up, and its funky bass instantly announces itself as being different to the previous song. The chorus is loud and in-your-face, with the same ferocity of Bodies. However, the change in pacing between the verses and the chorus is smoothly done. The only issue is, due to the short runtime, it feels a little unfinished. Apart from that, it’s a perfect track.

Try Harder Still is one of the more longer songs on the album. With all the extra time comes with fleshing out the song. It has everything; acoustic guitars, electric guitars, synths and drums. You wouldn’t know that this album had been recorded during lockdown, due to the fantastic production on the album. The sequel to Try Harder Still, Little Backwards Glance feels like a direct continuation that had been chopped in half. The added edition of what sounds like flutes is a nice touch that makes the song standout from the others.

The songs are as vibrant and colourful as the album cover. How A Song Should Go is a synth heavy song. The vocals are slow. With lyrics that reflect the agonising song-writing process, the song sounds like an interlude to bridge the album. The End is the shortest song of the album. The second half of the album sounds like an electro-pop record with some rock thrown in. Thankfully, the shift is not jarring. This is thanks to the fifth song. The interlude is the prefect bridge. Birdsong is another interlude. What’s interesting about it is that there are no vocals, which allows the listener to appreciate the instruments.

In conclusion, GLITTERER has made a solid album here. Thanks to perfect production, the short length of the songs is not a bad thing. In fact, it is quite a talent to create entertaining songs in a short amount of time. Despite some rough songs halfway through the album, Life Is Not A Lesson is an excellent album, especially in this short-attention span generation.

Rating: 7/10

Life Is Not A Lesson is out now via ANTI- Records.

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