Glass Hammer, the famous and unpredictable progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee has released their tenth studio album since 1992. This time, Susie Bogdanowicz sang seven of the eleven tracks on Three Cheers For The Broken Hearted. This tenth album could have been another surprise from multi-instrumentalists Steve Babb and Fred Schendel. Unfortunately it is, but not in a positive way. Sure, if you like a mixture of different styles of music on an album, then this one could be a good choice as the eleven tracks differ a lot. I’ve heard melancholic ballads like Sun Down Shores and Falling, the psychedelic-influenced rocker Schrodinger’s Lament and some soft-metal tracks like Sleep On and The Curse They Weave both based on the band’s previous progressive rock style. Well, this kind of blending different styles of music certainly is not my cup of tea. Moreover, the album contains some annoying songs like Come On, Come On having a childish melody with flat singing. Schrodinger’s Lament and Hyperbole are in fact weak imitations of German band Propaganda, featuring irritating male voices and the last track Falling is a rehash of the music of The Alan Parsons Projects. I’m very disappointed with this new album, because I was used to hear interesting music and original compositions from Steve and Fred. Glass Hammer proved in the past eighteen years to have much more musical qualities than they delivered on Three Cheers For The Broken Hearted. * Cor Smeets (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
