I’ve not yet had the opportunity to ask Dublin sixsome The Dying Seconds where they got their name, but I’m guessing it refers to those mysterious final moments in a person’s life, when they’re sort of fingering through the magazines in the hereafter’s waiting room. Of course, there’s no way of telling what these curious closing seconds feel like, but I’ll bet they sound something like Glimmerers, frantic and spooky, but oddly sweet and sentimental.
As well as being a damn sight more consistent than The Dying Seconds’ eponymous debut, the new ten-tracker sees co-founders David Cantan and Jack Quilligan step out from behind their laptops to create a fuller, more organic sound. Picking up where The Postal Service, Midlake and British Sea Power left off, the band revel in the queer and eccentric: clanging glockenspiel-led number ‘Kid Logic’ is the closest they come to a radio hit. Rhythms range from the gentle (‘Greenhorn’) to the breakneck (‘Scars’), while the plundering beats of ‘Mora Minn’ are absolutely irresistible. Vocalist David Cantan sounds bruised but gorgeous throughout, his trembling croon occasionally supported by the haunting tones of bandmate Naomi Moriarty.
Opener ‘Lavender’ collapses under the weight of its fuzzy, distorted layers, while ‘Tox’ is more experiment than song. Other noises are not music at all. As well as tinkling melodies and hushed vocals, you’ll hear sloshing waters, electronic glitches, alarm bells, footsteps and drum sticks tumbling to the floor. But for all the moments of confusion, Glimmerers boasts many highlights, including the gloriously soft ‘Rubbernecks’, and the compelling ‘Competitive Learning’.
You won’t be singing these tracks in the shower, but then, it doesn’t take a highly trained ear to figure out that this is not a party record. Glimmerers is an album for those moments when you want to feel your life flash before your ears.