Thursday, March 13   1:00 a.m.
Spiro's   (615 Red River St)

  Gliss - Kissing the Blvd - reverb rick
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When Billy Corgan heard Gliss’ debut EP, the band had barely ventured out of their hometown of Los Angeles. Their dark, atmospheric, guitar-and-keys heavy sound drew Corgan in and inspired him to take them along for a European tour, changing the band forever. While in Europe, they honed their sound, gained fans, and faced a metric ton of European attitude. Their debut full-length, Love The Virgins, was partially recorded during their formative European excursion.

Gliss conjures up a world where American garage rock meets the swirling ominous sounds of Berlin’s Krautrock. With fuzzed-out My Bloody Valentine guitars, The Dandy Warhol’s poppy rhythmic sensibilities, and the dark propulsion of The Liars, Gliss chronicles the excesses of a life they can’t seem to quit. This isn’t to say that there’s no fun to be had: “Blue Sky” is a wailing floor-stomper, propelled by drum kicks and a deliciously simple guitar lick, while “Kissing The Boulevard” is a double-time dancer with smoothed out synth bridges. Darker tracks like “Falling to Pieces,” “Make Believe,” and “Innocent Eyes” lament innocence lost to a rock ‘n’ roll life. Gliss makes doing bad sound good enough not to dissuade anyone from hedonism.

Having toured with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Billy Corgan, We Are Scientists, and The Editors, Gliss’ mesmerizing stage presence has an immediate grip on audiences. Dynamic frontman Martin Klingman and bandmates David Reiss and Victoria Cecilia, all multi-instrumentalists, each contributed vocals, guitar, bass and drums to the album and frequently change instruments during live shows. Love The Virgins captures the chaos and beauty of the dark underbelly of rock ‘n’ roll excess.