the Panic Division

Songs From The Glasshouse

[3/5]

Most bands go on and on about moving forward. But these San Antonio rockers have embraced taking a step backward, oh, about 20 years, from being a synth-tinged emo band on 2005’s Versus to fully rolling back into the ’80s with their sophomore album, Songs From The Glasshouse. We’re talking full-on swirly pop straight out of the Cutting Crew handbook. Colton Holliday & Co. always have been known for building songs around loops and keyboard samples, and there’s plenty of style here. But because they didn’t have a human drummer for most of Glasshouse’s recording, there’s a large drum machine presence that pushes their new wave agenda into different realms. They do the ’80s so well, they even throw in a spot-on cover of Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings” for good measure. Enjoy the time warp. (THE MILITIA GROUP) JR Griffin