While it might seem way too easy to pigeonhole Glare’s Sunset Funeral, it might also not. This Texas outfit’s full-length debut wears the “shoegazer” identity as if it is its most prized possession: its first Slowdive concert t-shirt, as the band describe that their music is “for people who don’t know how to talk about how they feel.” And why should it not? For it has all the familiar tropes of the shoegaze genre, like soaring melodic guitars full of drama and vocals that are not meant to be understood, but rather meant to be felt. 
Take “Sungrave,” which although it checks all the usual “shoegaze” boxes, is performed by the band as if the members are furious head-bangers and not introverts gazing at their shoes. The drumming is ferocious and the guitars are meaty enough to be in the grunge territory. This intense aspect of the song, combined with its melodiousness, has a very post-grunge feel, which is as much a part of its identity as its softer shoegaze self.
On “Nü Burn,” one of Sunset Funeral’s best songs, Glare go full-on post-grunge, but without the machismo, which is replaced by timid singing. “Mourning Haze,” another standout, sounds more like it came out of the grunge era than the shoegaze scene.
The melodious, contemplative, shoegazy side of Sunset Funeral is awesome. But if the record was defined by just this style, then it would be pretty dull. The grunge heaviness gives it life, turning the mediocre into memorable.
Glare do grunge great. In fact, tracks like “Mourning Haze” and “Kiss The Sun” show that they can do grunge better than some of the grunge acts from that era. But this facet of the band is not without its flaws. Glare are overzealous in their embrace of a heavier sound; at times, the drumming is harder and the guitars are louder than they should be, as with “Guts,” which, with all its layers and loudness, sounds jarring. A lot of this also has to do with the weak sound-mixing.
Yes, Glare could have reigned in their enthusiasm a bit more and could have done a better job with the mix. But what matters is that they have a lot of passion and have channeled it right in Sunset Funeral. Ultimately, this record’s combination of hard rock music with lush evocative sound textures is best felt and not described… and it feels good!