Los Angeles – There’s always something magical about the first time in doing anything.

This past Saturday, Australian rock band Glass Towers made their live American debut at the Bootleg Bar in Los Angeles. The excitement was palpable, making for a very high energy live show.

Glass Towers originally hails from Sydney, Australia, with lead singer Benjamin Hannam organizing the band with a couple of his friends and classmates in 2008. Glass Towers have released a couple of EPs since then, but have been garnering notable buzz within the last year for their full length debut album, Halcyon Days.

In fact, Glass Towers will be performing at a SXSW showcase this coming week. The show at the Bootleg on Saturday, and the Sunday after with other Aussie bands, were just warm-ups for the main event in Texas. Still, the band’s enthusiasm for playing in the States was obvious. Hannam was lively, and at one point shared his excitement about flying over from down under, and cheering to his home land with a bottle of beer in his hand.

When it comes down to it though, a high energy performance from Glass Towers was expected. If there were a word to encapsulate the sound and vibes of the Aussie group, it would be youthful. Even their debut album, Halcyon Days suggests a carefree attitude with its name, and that’s exactly what the album’s sound is. Halcyon Days is a record with catchy track after catchy track; happy songs that are very reminiscent of pop-punk but with enough edge not to cross the border into the genre fully. It is definitely summer rock, and best listened to with a crop top on and a kiddie pool nearby.

When Glass Towers’ tracks were translated live, it was a different story, but in the best way. The liveliness of their songs, which included most of their singles including “Jumanji,” and “Tonight,” were amplified ten-fold. Hannam’s live vocals were more vibrant than the studio renditions. At one point, he dedicated a song to a girl named Emma, and the nostalgia in his voice with the following love song channeled a young Robert Smith in his prime. For the rest of the night, it was hard to shake out the comparison; that Glass Towers were actually just a happier version of The Cure in an alternate universe, from a different continent.

The audience was receptive to the band for the most part, though Los Angeles music crowds are notorious for being blasé at shows. Someone should have warned the band about that. Despite it all, when they neared the end of their set, Hannam proclaimed that if there were any imminent time to start dancing that night, it would be then, for their last song. The audience started swaying, and Glass Towers’ set ended as energetic as it began. There’s no doubt that the same caliber of eagerness and ambition will show up for their showcase in Texas.

Halcyon Days, their debut album, is available now. For more information on Glass Towers, check out their Facebook HERE.

 

 

Live Photo By Geneva Valek