There is something quite special about the cover of Glazyhaze’s second album Sonic. For one, just by its plainness that is depicted so elegantly, the cover makes you pay attention to it, and by association, to this unknown Venetian (yes, the city in Italy) outfit. More significantly, it makes a profound statement in its simplicity: a lonely lit match still can be powerful. This cover is symbolic of the spirit of the album behind it; Sonic has a lot, manifested gracefully in its quick 31-minute duration.

While the album has a shoegaze/dream pop vocabulary, it also has the raw authenticity of nineties college rock. A true representation of this is the opening number “What A Feeling,” which carries a lot of power within its two minutes. With its raging colossal guitars, this firecracker of a track is like a strong espresso or a bucket of ice that would wake anyone up. Although there is a shoegaze aspect to this cut, you won’t lose yourself in its world like you would typically do with this genre. “Slap,” another explosive song, has big and blustery guitars. Front woman Irene Moretuzzo’s hauntingly plaintive singing here in her usual disaffected style, is sweet as honey, but with the sting of a bee.

What’s disappointing is that most of Sonic does not consist of dynamites like these. Without the consuming guitars and the beauty of mystery, all that’s left is frail sweetness, that sounds a lot like some of the wishy-washy alternative music that came out of the nineties. The worst of this is embodied by the listener-favorite “Nirvana,” whose type of tender sugariness sounds as bland now as it did in the nineties. 

But it is Sonic’s spirit that keeps it engaging. Glazyhaze don’t settle into the comfort of creating traditional song structures. Choruses are all but non-existent. Songs are short but keep changing. There’s a spontaneous “let’s make music ’cause we love it” energy, which is so pure. And this sentiment goes a long way in winning appreciation for this album, which in general, is not going to sweep you off your feet.

Rating: C+

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