Get out your shuttered glasses and retro tank-top and swoop that fringe over, because Glamour For Better are here to make love to your inner scene kid in ways Brokencyde could only ever of dream of. Yes, Brokencyde comparisons are in order although only to the extent that Glamour For Better are ***ing ridiculous, but unlike Brokencyde they don’t make me cringe internally (except maybe for a few moments). You see, Glamour For Better were a little known “nu-rave” outfit (a tag that means literally nothing for the most part) from the UK that didn’t exist for all that long in the great scheme of things, only recording one LP and few EPs before disappearing into the murky depths of scene nostalgia kitsch. It’s not hard to see why this happened either, as they certainly don’t have a sound that would appeal to many people nor one that most would even take seriously. Indeed, I don’t even take them seriously, because it’s impossible to take a scene kid with a lispy hormonal voice seriously; especially when he spends his time shouting absurd lyrics like “See this girl, she's buff 'n' that/Gettin' all grimy on her ass 'n' that”.
But in a way I find that very liberating, because from the get go on
Shape Cutting Catalyst our neon laden boys make it very clear exactly what sort of time they want to give us, and that’s one which really doesn’t give any ***s. Throughout most of this short 3 track EP GFB spend their time sounding like Hadouken! on steroids as they indulge in the skankiest rave ever conceived, replete with snare claps, bouncy synth and over the top wub wub noises. When Brokencyde appeared on the scene years ago I think they were misleading in that they made it seem like the melding of screaming and over the top dance music was impossible; which for the most part it is though if any group has got it anywhere near right it’s Glamour For Better. Where they mainly succeed over their disgusting peers is that they limit the screaming to a large extent and their lyrics actually have some level of originality to them. In fact you won’t find any contrived lyrics about being smashed or getting “down in the club”. instead you get more humorous lyrics like “Here he comes, he's Jack the Lad/that shirt is so his Dad's” that are mired in UK slang and teenage energy.
“Ill Wait For You” is a very strange track that differs from the others in that it seems to be a love song, one of most over the top sickly-sweet teenage love songs at that. Starting off with twinkly guitars and chilled out synth before prematurely bursting into an ADHD induced, pounding drum beat it’s a song of two enjoyable yet poorly melded halves that needs to make up its mind over what it is. However, it does contains one of the most surprising moments of the EP when it chills out into this spacy atmosphere that makes me feel intense nostalgia for reasons I cannot conceive of.
Nostalgia permeates this whole EP for me weirdly enough, which is why I think I can deal with the sometimes cringey lyrics. It reminds me of my poorly dressed 14 year old self who thought Skins was basically the best thing ever and spent most of his time listening to Enter Shikari. “What’s Your Name” specifically with its buzzing riff, wob wobs and hysterical screaming perfectly encapsulates the aggression and energy that nu-rave always could have been about, an adrenaline wired mix of hardcore “screamo” aggression and neon-electric aesthetic. The EP ends with this track degenerating into a frenzy of drum and bass style drumming, chugging guitars and dissonance. Sadly, you will most likely hate this aesthetic with a burning passion or dig it because the execution while sloppy isn’t the main issue here, it’s the tone and style itself. Perhaps that’s why I’ve never brought myself to check out their full length LP, instead keeping to this, a short 3 track EP that doesn’t have enough run time to become overbearing and obnoxious; although it certainly seems to try.
