The former solo project of Mike Caridi (LVL UP/Double Double Whammy) is going full-band: The Glow’s two new tracks, “Love Only” b/w “Heavy Glow,” find Caridi joined by his former LVL UP bandmate Greg Rutkin, as well as veteran performers Kate Meizer (Hellrazor, Potty Mouth) and Nicola Leel (Doe).
“‘Love Only’ and ‘Heavy Glow’ are the first two songs written by The Glow, sorta,” says Caridi in a statement. “I’ve been releasing music under The Glow moniker since 2016 or so, but until now I’d considered it a solo outlet. The Glow live band came together around the 2019 record Am I, and somehow I got lucky enough to play with a bunch of musicians who I’ve known and admired for years; Greg Rutkin, Kate Meizner, Nicola Leel and Madeline Babuka Black.”
“To be surrounded by so much talent and not be open to collaboration would have been a major misstep on my part,” Caridi continues. “There’s so much joy in collaboration that I missed a lot while trying to do things on my own. ‘Love Only’ is about reflection and growth; I feel extremely lucky to be playing music with my friends, and with these two songs, The Glow feels like it’s just beginning to bloom.”
The Caridi-led “Love Only” finds the vocalist-guitarist in familiar-feeling, introspective jangle-rock territory, while the hazy “Heavy Glow,” the quartet’s first entirely collaborative track, features Meizner on lead vocals, a first for The Glow, and dedicates its final four (of a sprawling seven) minutes to four simultaneously improvised guitar solos, one from each member of the band.
There’s no official word yet on whether these tracks belong to a larger body of work from the band, but it’s clear enough they herald a new era of The Glow.
Listen to “Love Only” and “Heavy Glow” below.
