The Glow Pt. 2

The Glow Pt. 2
Studio album by The Microphones
Released September 25, 2001
Recorded May 23, 2000 – March 23, 2001
Studio Dub Narcotic, Olympia, Washington
Genre
Length 66:38
Label K
Producer Phil Elvrum
The Microphones chronology
It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water
(2000)		 The Glow Pt. 2
(2001)		 Song Islands
(2002)

The Glow Pt. 2 is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band The Microphones, released in September 2001 through K Records. It is considered by many to be The Microphones' definitive work.[1] "The Glow" was the title of the fourth track on the band's previous album It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water. A reissue of the album which included a bonus disc of material was released by K Records in 2008.

As credited in the album's liner notes, the cover of The Glow Pt. 2 originates from an antique Dutch cookbook entitled Calvé-Delft's Winterboekje, which was printed around 1940.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Consequence of SoundA–[4]
The Line of Best Fit9.5/10[5]
Pitchfork Media9.2/10[6]
PopMatters9/10[7]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[8]
Stylus MagazineA–[9]
Under the Radar9/10[10]

Contemporary reviews of The Glow Pt. 2 upon release were generally positive. Matt LeMay of Pitchfork Media called the album an "alive" and "sprawling, swirling composition", while stating that "parts of The Glow Pt. 2 are absolutely breathtaking" due to its stereoscopic enhancements.[6] LeMay felt that the album "exceeds even its predecessor in capturing the simultaneous wrath and fragility of nature" and praised the title track as being "the single most breathtaking song on the album".[6] Dave Heaton of PopMatters described The Microphones' approach to music as "free and idiosyncratic" and "constrained by few boundaries, a fact that allows them to travel through various unique musical lands".[11] Writing in Under the Radar, Wendy Lynch stated that The Glow Pt. 2 "encapsulates chaos with sparatic [sic] changes and bullets of sound" and labelled The Microphones as "one of the most original, interesting bands to come out in the last 3 years".[10] Stylus Magazine's Tyler Martin asserted that The Microphones "spew innovation every second of this disc" and that the album "promises something you have never heard before and delivers it, perhaps more than you’d expect".[9] Heather Phares of AllMusic stated that "it's The Glow, Pt. 2's deep, nearly spiritual yearning that makes it the Microphones' most compelling album to date."[3]

Legacy

Retrospective reviews of The Glow Pt. 2 have expressed more general critical acclaim for the album. In a review of the album's 2008 re-issue, Brian Howe of Pitchfork Media stated that The Glow Pt. 2 remained to be Phil Elvrum's "crowning achievement" and that "seven years of imitation have done nothing to dull its impact-- it sounds as unaccountably grand now as it did in 2001".[12] Brock Thiessen of Exclaim! described the album as "a brave new world where solar noise bursts over sprawling epics of the most intimate nature" and stated that "it's clear age hasn't tainted the kaleidoscopic Glow Pt. 2 in the least".[13] Both reviews praised the bonus material on Other Songs & Destroyed Versions as essential,[13] with the latter asserting that while "none of the new lyrics clarify the overarching story", the new tracks "reveal a few more glimpses of a distant, haunting world that's all the more alluring for its incompleteness".[12] Writing for PopMatters, Dan Raper stated that "Microphones fans will find Other Songs & Destroyed Versions more than worth the investment".[7]

After a second reissue of The Glow Pt. 2 in 2013, Colin Joyce of Consequence of Sound hailed the record as "a masterwork of sequencing as it bleeds and blends from track to track".[4] Dan Hancox, writing for The Guardian in its "Hidden treasures" column, described the album as "a masterstroke" and "a millennial Daydream Nation".[14] The Line of Best Fit lauded The Glow Pt. 2 as an "essential work of modern indie",[5] while Stereogum's retrospective feature on the album stated that the album's "bond with listeners, as individuals," surpasses its critical success.[15]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Year Rank
Cokemachineglow Top 100 Albums of the 2000s[16] 2010 8
Pitchfork Top 20 Albums of 2001[17] 2001 1
The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s[18] 2009 73
Stylus Magazine The Top 50 Albums: 2000-2005[19] 2005 22
Tiny Mix Tapes Favorite 100 Albums of 2000-2009: 20-01[20] 2010 5

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Phil Elvrum. 

No. Title Length
1. "I Want Wind to Blow"   5:32
2. "The Glow Pt. 2"   4:58
3. "The Moon"   5:16
4. "Headless Horseman"   3:08
5. "My Roots Are Strong and Deep"   1:53
6. "Instrumental"   1:38
7. "The Mansion"   3:52
8. "(Something)"   1:38
9. "(Something)"   2:42
10. "I'll Not Contain You"   2:50
11. "The Gleam Pt. 2"   1:57
12. "Map"   5:00
13. "You'll Be in the Air"   2:41
14. "I Want to Be Cold"   1:41
15. "I Am Bored"   1:36
16. "I Felt My Size"   2:24
17. "Instrumental"   1:52
18. "I Felt Your Shape"   1:54
19. "Samurai Sword"   4:07
20. "My Warm Blood"   9:28

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States September 25, 2001 K Records CD KLP 133
double LP
United States April 4, 2008 K Records deluxe double CD KLP 190
deluxe triple LP
United States July 9, 2013 P. W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd. double LP, digital download ELV 031

References

  1. ↑ That Music Magazine: The Microphones, The Glow Pt. 2
  2. ↑ "Discogs: The Microphones – "The Glow" Pt. 2". Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "The Glow, Pt. 2 – The Microphones". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Joyce, Colin (July 11, 2013). "The Microphones – The Glow Pt. 2 [Reissue]". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Nelson, Adam (July 31, 2013). "The Microphones – Reissues". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 LeMay, Matt (September 10, 2001). "The Microphones: The Glow, Pt. 2". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Raper, Dan (April 24, 2008). "The Microphones: The Glow, Pt. 2". PopMatters. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ P., Lewis (May 17, 2008). "The Microphones – The Glow Pt. 2 (Re-release)". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Martin, Tyler (September 1, 2003). "The Microphones – The Glow, Part Two – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Lynch, Wendy. "Microphones – The Glow Part 2 (K Punk Records)". Under the Radar (Los Angeles). Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Heaton, Dave (September 24, 2001). "The Microphones: The Glow, pt. 2". PopMatters. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Howe, Brian (April 4, 2008). "The Microphones: The Glow Pt. 2". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  13. 1 2 Thiessen, Brock (April 27, 2008). "Microphones The Glow Pt. 2". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ Hancox, Dan (March 13, 2013). "Hidden treasures: The Microphones – The Glow Pt 2". The Guardian. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Hockley-Smith, Sam (February 27, 2013). "Backtrack: The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2". Stereogum. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of the 2000s". Cokemachineglow. March 26, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Staff Lists: Top 20 Albums of 2001". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. January 1, 2002. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100-51". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. September 30, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  19. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums: 2000-2005". Stylus Magazine. January 18, 2005. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Favorite 100 Albums of 2000-2009: 20-01". Tiny Mix Tapes. February 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
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