Album Review: Broken Glow – “Filament”

Remember that first time you were introduced to rock and roll? I imagine if you ask 100 different people about that experience, you’ll get 100 vastly different answers with only loose connecting threads. Some may have gone to a show with their parents. Some may have listened to an older sibling’s record.

I vividly remember my first experience with rock and roll. I first caught the bug through grunge rock. I was in middle school and I remember when I heard the first few riffs slip through my parents’ car radio. It was “Rooster” by Alice In Chains. The slow-building crescendos, Layne Staley’s shrill yet melodic vocals, Jerry Cantrell’s killer guitar work; I can still hear it all. And as someone who grew up on R&B, Soul, and the occasional hip hop, the experience left me jarred and wanting more.

Broken Glow

So, why would I bring that up? Well, local Savannah trio, Broken Glow, are no strangers to that grungy, 90’s alt-rock sound. Their newest album, Filament, has a slew of tracks that would fit perfectly into your favorite playlist right along side Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and other staples of the alt-rock scene. That’s not to say that their a one trick pony though and Filament excels at showing that. Their opening track, Iconoclast, definitely draws more from the Alice In Chains vein of their influences while other tracks like Smoke and Blue Dream have a much more blues tinged sound. One stand out track, Fish Out Of Water, has a certain Middle Eastern flair to it that can’t help but draw comparisons to tracks by System of a Down in the best of ways.

Filament is an experience to say the least. That’s not to say it’s perfect in every way, but it certainly deserves to be enjoyed in one continuous play-through at least once. If anything, Filament offers a global view of what drives Broken Glow as a band and where they plan on going in the future. And it certainly looks like Broken Glow’s future is one to keep an eye on.

RIYL: Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, System of a Down