Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
Glassreel Looks Into Their “Crystal Ball” And…They Want a Refund On This Whole Adulthood Thing

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • Glassreel Looks Into Their “Crystal Ball” And…They Want a Refund On This Whole Adulthood Thing
Glassreel
Fri Jun 19, 2020
Cashbox Canada

Stand-out Canadian alt rock-pop outfit Glassreel map the delicate journey into unknown adulthood and unmet expectations with new single,“Crystal Ball”.

Watch and Listen to “Crystal Ball” here:  https://youtu.be/NuFHZKv6mdU  

A partnership between longtime musical collaborators Kelly Beaton and Trevor Graumann — with Andrew Workman and Ken Phillips — Glassreel and their 2019 debut EP Unalike has been heralded throughout North America, with features on 100+ radio stations (including CBC and NPR) and a foothold on the !earshot National Top 50 for multiple weeks. Additionally, their music is featured in several episodes of celebrity chef David Rocco’s forthcoming series, Dolce Italia.

Separately and together, Beaton and Graumann have shared the stage with Wintersleep, Said the Whale, Partner, iskwē, Sloan, Land of Talk, The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club, Julie Doiron, and more, and have played SXSW and Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival, to name a few. Their respective projects have enjoyed critical acclaim from Chart Attack, CBC, CMJ, exclaim! and ELLE, and have charted throughout North America.

The newest single from Unalike, which was recorded/mixed by Ryan McVeigh (Boats) and mastered by Philip Shaw Bova (Father John Misty, Feist, Andy Shauf), “Crystal Ball” amplifies Glassreel’s signature simplicity and sonic clarity, enveloping listeners in the sobering realization that youthful expectations don’t align with adulthood reality.

“The lyrics were born of anxiety…” Graumann shares of his pen-to-paper process on “Crystal Ball.” “That generalized anxiety around not being where you feel you ‘should be’ at this point in life, as well as some specific anxiety about a specific stressful situation that then occurs.

“The line ‘handing your changes in’ got stuck in my head… Like a ‘call to progress.’”

“I remember the first time Trevor played the demo for me,” Beaton recalls. “I remember what I felt and what my impression was: The song was different, and it was special.

“It was born out of shared experiences and a bigger idea I had not yet seen, but one that Trevor had no doubt been visualizing for a long, long time. ‘Crystal Ball’ was and is such an important song — both personally and reflectively — for our band and for one another.”

Uniquely to “Crystal Ball,” Beaton found it would take some time to fully immerse into the flow of the lyrics as Graumann intended them, but the surmountable hurdle would skyrocket the song to the top as one of her favourites.

“There is an ongoing, simultaneous challenge and privilege of singing someone else’s lyrics,” she shares. “Especially those of a close friend, and someone with many shared experiences that have brought us where we are.

“There were days when I would totally blank and/or interchange the words in the chorus… Over time, and our weird journey together, certain lyrics eventually sank in, and I was able to visualize the song as a whole and communicate the idea to the listener.

“When it’s my turn to choose a song to play at rehearsal, I still choose ‘Crystal Ball.’”

Directed by Workman — with videography by Kelly O’Donnell — the video for “Crystal Ball” was shot on a cool Autumn day in Graumann’s neighbourhood. Its muted colour palette, solitary plight and dreary, somewhat prosaic adventure follows a quizzical child navigating a symbolic adulthood, encountering regret, vulnerability, and hope of transformation along the way.

For more information:
instagram.com/glassreel/
facebook.com/glassreel/
twitter.com/glassreel
open.spotify.com/album/6Nx6sfevQSD9jDOeGtTQuH

Reviews
Album
Glassreel
Month: Jun 2022
Pop Sensation  Andrew Cassara Shows He’s “Better Off” & Moving On with Dancy New Single Pop Sensation Andrew Cassara Shows He’s “Better Off” & Moving On with Dancy New…
Rockers Arsenal Mills Unleash Release Supercharged New Single, “Give It Up” Rockers Arsenal Mills Unleash Release Supercharged New Single, “Give It Up”
Durham County Poets Are “Back at the Groove Shack,” Leading the Soulful Way ‘Out of the Woods’ with New Album & Single Durham County Poets Are “Back at the Groove Shack,” Leading the Soulful Way ‘…
Canadian Songsmith Christina Martin Drops Blistering New Single, “In Control” Canadian Songsmith Christina Martin Drops Blistering New Single, “In Control”
Salt Lake City, Utah Pop-Country Artist Elliott Novak “Why Does Everyday Start With Goodbye” Salt Lake City, Utah Pop-Country Artist Elliott Novak “Why Does Everyday…
Heather Charlottetown, PEI Heather Releases Unadulterated Rock ‘N’ Roller“ Sucker Punch…
Janel Rae Explores Inner & Outer Wreckage with Radically Honest “Sometimes” Janel Rae Explores Inner & Outer Wreckage with Radically Honest “Sometimes”
Morgan x Barrie Explores Human Connection & the Search for Our Place in the World with New Album, Lines Morgan x Barrie Explores Human Connection & the Search for Our Place…
Summerside, PEI's Alt-Rocker Soul Filter Say “The City Knows” with New Single Summerside, PEI's Alt-Rocker Soul Filter Say “The City Knows” with New Single
Windsor, ON-Born, NYC-Based Leah Harris’ New Single “Shine” Climbing the Charts Windsor, ON-Born, NYC-Based Leah Harris’ New Single “Shine” Climbing the Charts
Winnipeg's Pop/R&B Artist Stanley Battles With Ego Vs Love In New Single, “Twisted” Winnipeg's Pop/R&B Artist Stanley Battles With Ego Vs Love In New Single, “…
Chris Antonik Blues-Rocker Chris Antonik Explores the Hurt of Being Shut Out in Roaring “…
Frida Maria Encapsulating Every Emotion & Beyond, Pop-EDM Artist Frida Maria Creates “…
Flowshine Calgary Alt-Rockers Flowshine Say “Give It A Go” on their Release of New Single…
Christian Artist Ileen Laura Brings Needed Awareness Scleroderma with “Fight Left In Me” Christian Artist Ileen Laura Brings Needed Awareness Scleroderma with “Fight…

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 69
  • Page 70
  • Page 71
  • Page 72
  • Current page 73
  • Page 74
  • Page 75
  • Page 76
  • Page 77
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers