Despite what their name suggests, Glass Heart String Choir is actually a duo made up of Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer.
They're dropping a new EP, called Light, a collection of classically-influenced chamber pop, aka ork-pop (orchestral pop), a subgenre of rock that grew out of the lounge pop sound of the 60s. Many cite the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds as the genre's seminal work.
The theme of Light is uncertainty, anxiety, and the inability to truly define the concept of beauty. The duo blends the scope of rock music with lushly layered classical textures and Williams' gleaming, sensitive voice.
The EP is made up of five tracks, opening with "Wildfires," a gentle, delicate tune swelling with strings exuding soft filaments of color. There's a baroque, liturgical feel to the song; almost sacred. "Darkest Day" rides tender rolling harmonics atop the tantalizing pluck of strings and elusive piano coloration. Williams' tones reflect simple sophistication and lustrous timbres.
The title track features a dramatic piano and melancholic violin. As the strings elevate, surrounding Williams' voice, the tune takes on an intense suffusion of anxiety. The harmonic flow undulates with pensive tendrils of nuanced uneasiness. "Winter" integrates layers of strings softly radiant. The feel presented embraces alt-folk and classical flavors. The resulting music is smoothly beautiful.
"Your Voice" recalls Joni Mitchell backed by refined strings that achieve elegant muscularity as the harmonics expand to blooming hues. The spiritual ambience of this tune imbues it with exaggerated grace.
Light glows with complex luminous colors, supple textures, and a gorgeous liturgical aura.
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Randy Radic is a Left Coast author and writer. Author of numerous true crime books written under the pen-name of John Lee Brook. Former music contributor at Huff Post.
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