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Glint, Brooklyn Bowl, NYC

Live Reviews

A blend of hipster cool, electronic experimentation and good old-fashioned dance music.

1st July 2010, Brooklyn Bowl, NY / By Max Foxman
Glint I’ll say it once and I will say it again, Brooklyn Bowl is a great venue for glitz and glamour. With its many bowling lanes, replete with screens displaying the live concert behind them, the setting is shimmering in glitter. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Glint do so well at the Bowl. The band of New York natives are a blend of hipster cool, electronic experimentation and good old-fashioned dance music making it a perfect showcase for the other anyone who attend that night.

Glint play a short and tight set of songs that range from the ethereal to dance grooves. The band start with the song 'Nothing' followed by the equally simply titled 'Belong', in which lead singer Jase Blankfort's vocals verge toward Thom Yorke. Perhaps in an attempt to emulate the British pop singer, Blankfort often adopts the same quintessential Yorke pained facial expression, while taking advantage of the large Brooklyn Bowl Stage, youthfully leaping around it throughout the entire concert and often dramatically bending down or laying on stage. This is particularly poignant in the band’s third song, 'In Your Innocence', a rousing dance number with a powerful bass line. By contrast to Blankfort, the rest of the band was fairly stationary giving Blankfort room to do as he pleased and fully act out the role of rock star.

The Radiohead comparisons could easily be used to describe the band’s next song, 'Man Vs. Man', with its initial slight progressive rock edge and a rhythm and sound that would thrill any fan of Tool. However, in the next song, 'Boy of the Stars', the band abandon the progressive rock edge for a softer sound with piano accompaniment from the two on-stage keyboardists, and whose finale was an extensive vamp, with all members of the band getting quite experimental. Philip Kuperberg, in particular, should be singled out. His sound processing synths throughout the night adds an almost sci-fi edge to every song and seems to blend perfectly with the background visuals, which range from what look like home videos to Spaghetti Westerns.

However, perhaps, the best part of the evening, and, certainly, the most apt for Brooklyn Bowl, starts after the extended solos of 'Boy of the Stars', when the silver sneakered Blankfort requests that the audience come closer to the stage for what is easily be the climax of the show. It begins with 'Double Vision', an almost Coldplay-like number and quickly turns into a thumping disco-heavy jam. After 'Wally', a cool electro-pop song oozing with sexiness, the band finish their set with 'Your Right', a disco song with a fair amount of dissonance and oddball electronic sounds. The band’s riff on other forms is intellectually intriguing and sonically otherworldly. Hopefully, Glint will be entertaining fans at Brooklyn Bowl in years to come. Rating: 8/10
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