Glyder - Playground For Life

Details:

• Year of release : 2007
• Label : True Talent Records
• Review format : CD

None other than Philomena Lynott, mother of Phillip has hailed Glyder as the logical successors to Thin Lizzy. Judging them by their debut album, their twin guitar attack on tracks such as Stargazer and Pretty Useless People, added to the fact that they’re Irish, it’s easy to understand why.

The legendary Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath) is back at the mixing desk for the second time, an alliance that seems to have gained them a healthy foothold on today’s rock ladder, so it would have been easy and understandable to carry on in much the same vein of their debut. Instead, they have chosen a different, slightly more radio friendly direction, though that’s not to say that their grounding in classic rock has been forgotten but rather watered down ever so subtly.

Opening tracks Gamblers Blues and Sweets reinforce their obvious love of hard rock, the guitars on the former build to a fine crescendo and the latter nodding in agreement with Black Sabbath. Puppet Queen is perhaps the only track on here I’ve had a slight problem with. Whilst the chorus is chock full of healthy riffs, the verse moves in the territory of some unlikely bedfellows, The Jam or perhaps Madness. Extremely catchy, the title track Playground For Life features understated guitars much like the sound the Manic Street Preachers currently boast. The twin guitars and vocal style on Dark Meets Light show again just why the Thin Lizzy comparisons surfaced. With it’s slightly prog feel, track of the album for me is Over and Over, an excellent bass line leads through a 3½-minute journey of rolling rhythm changes.

Summary : Playground For Life should see people continue to mention Glyder in the same breath as Thin Lizzy and Rory Gallagher, yet open them up to a wider audience. Yes maybe I expected a much heavier album, the one that they hinted they had in them with the first release. Never the less, this is an accomplished album, maybe slightly more Hollywood than Emerald but a damned fine release all the same!

If You Listen To One Song Listen To : Over and Over

Score : 3.5/5

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DH