EARTHLIKE’S DEBUT LP
Earthlike is new to releasing music, but it's been nearly three decades of life that have informed Kyle Glover's musical project. From growing up in the western suburbs or Naarm/Melbourne, to working remotely in Arnhem Land, his maiden album, The Main One explores the complexities and variation that comes through the experiences Glover has lived out to date.
It's no surprise that given the uniqueness of Glover's circumstances, Earthlike's music effortlessly bends and blends within genres. From hypnotic psych-rock anthems to proclamative ballads of love, the diversity of sonic layers is a representation of the merging between Glover’s internal landscape and the ecosystems he has immersed himself in.
The Main One, although not solely reduced to, resides within the intimate intersections between the demands of a modern existence and the abyssal expanse of the Top End. Recorded in a brief moment between work commitments in the Northern Territory and commencing the Te Araroa trail, it's as much about presence as it is transience.
At its core Earthlike acts as a means of bookmarking the collision of time, place, and feeling through their alternative and indie rock angled sound. The environment is intentionally woven into every moment that explores the existence of the mundane to the magical, and all that dances between.
In celebration of its release on Wednesday November 19, and in the build up to Earthlike launching the album at The Tote upstairs on Friday January 16, I reflected on five of the standout tracks from The Main One.
I Like How It Is
The opening track of the album I Like How It Is introduces us to the depth in the sound of Earthlike, with driving percussion underlying the verse, the melody is a sweeping tangent that glides effortlessly into the layered chorus. The chorus introduces some heavier guitar tones and an infectious riff that transitions back into the remainder of the song in an ear-worm like fashion. It’s the perfect start to the 11 songs that ensue, telling the story of an interaction with the captain of a boat from up north, and finding connection in a mutual respect for the land.
Can You Tell Me Your Name
Can You Tell Me Your Name was the last single released from the LP. The offbeat drums act as captivating undercurrent in the verse, striking an intrinsic fibre to get up and dance. The heavy guitar sections that erupt into the chorus only incites this energetic reaction further, bridging the rest of song together in a way that exemplifies the dynamic aspects of Earthlike’s music and the layering that contributes to a more whole story.
Over and Over
Boasting a delicate introductory riff, the song emerges into a driving verse that expresses an entrapment that comes through repetition. Filled with big guitar layers the chorus speaks further to the monotony in routine, as the refrain Over and Over carries the song forward. A tenderness in the guitar work returns to only build back into the refrain, carrying the track into a prolonged and crescendoing outro. The music video for this track was filmed during a recent stint in Taiwan, as Glover dressed in a suit wove through the city with a homogenised banality, likened to the exhaustion of the grind.
Sand Monitor
An early single release for the LP, Sand Monitor is rich in layered guitar sections. In a homage to psych-rock this track undulates between building and descending, fusing together the story of a land-based lizard. It’s hard-hitting and entirely energetic and the placement of the song in the broader album narrative opens up the project in a way that highlights the diversity that Earthlike is capable of in his songwriting. Sand Monitor is anthemic in an ode to the vibrational life apparent in Northern Australia. The music video, filmed mainly on Super 8mm, follows a mysterious pursuit of an elusive lizard propelling three wanderers towards an unexpected encounter with the animal, resulting in an unpredictable turn of events.
Waiting For You
The epilogous track rounds out the album in a way that leaves the future open for Earthlike. It holds a beauty in the lyrics that expresses a yearning, a waiting for a dear one. The gentle and lolling guitar work fortifies the mellow and soothing nature of it. It’s the sudden threshold that it reaches to rise out into a heavier but equally emotive and sentimental outro, one that pushes the song into a climatic peak until it ends. It’s the finish to a highly varied first project by Earthlike, and yet it almost acts a prelude and announcement that this is only the beginning.
You can purchase tickets to Earthlike’s album launch at The Tote here.
written by Jacob McCormack