RIP Ivory Glass Towers.
The Electronic Noise project of vocalist/ drum programmer/ guitarist/ mixer Peter Hoovler, bassist Vincent X Taino (Grandmother Miracles/ Children of the Flaming Wheel), and guitarist Mara Knoecklein (Stalkers) that was kicking for 5-6 years left us with many fond memories of shows around JP and beyond, as well as this remarkable 5 song EP Visible Light.
If this is your first encounter with Ivory Glass Towers and you, like me, happen to like ruddy, heavily distorted guitars, drum machines, and foreboding electronic sounds, this EP is definitely worth checking out, again, and again and again. I had the pleasure of catching IGT play what was one of their last, electrifying shows in Roxbury over the summer, and a striking aspect of their performance, aside from how loud it was, was how effortless and natural the energy of the performance was transferred.
Visible Light is no different in how it impacts the listener. The sense of transference and reflectivity of a larger social context is palpable in the sonic scapes constructed by this trio. Part industrial, part electronic, part death-rock, Ivory Glass Towers gives off a unique, gnarly sound that is subtle in its complexity. Upon numerous listens, layers, hidden noises and shrieks appear and paint a chaotic picture, essential to the whole sonic architecture built by IGT. With brilliant mastering by tz._.tv the album comes alive again and again via its dark nature, overpowering guitars, and affected beats and electronic high notes.
It is worth mentioning that this EP, the bands only release in its 5-6 year run, is the culmination of these past few years of playing together and building songs. This maturation comes off via the sounds complexity and how the energy was distilled into the album; patient yet immediate and massive, calculated, yet produced with just the right mix of improvisation and jamming to feed the listener’s more primal side. This notion is carried through Hoovler’s vocals: an admixture of disgust and brutality in the face of anxiety and paranoia that captivates the listener with mystery and doubt. It is here, in the reflection of a nadir of culture that the listener can face and, at the same time, be set free of these same anxieties and paranoias we all face.
In the case of Ivory Glass Towers, this reflection is a vivid and remarkable testament to hold back in the face of a culture and a society that is fraught with imperfection and callousness. Ivory Glass Towers, like other bands that can reach such heights (or depths, however you’d like to view it) is the means by which the ‘no’ becomes a ‘yes.’
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Chris Hues is a human & writer from Boston, Ma & Art & Extra Editor of bostonhassle.com. //// They can be reached at [email protected] or @crsjh_ via instagram & twitter.
