Glass Beach, the extremely online chiptune-adjacent emo Band To Watch, have yet to drop a proper follow-up to 2019's the first glass beach album, but today they've given us their most ambitious project since. Following the Bill & Ted-rejected "Running," the alternate version "classic j dies and gets a million streams on spotify," and the compilation loosie "1015," they've returned with their first release of 2021, a cover of Car Seat Headrest's "Beach Life-In-Death" without the hyphens.
On the original lo-fi Twin Fantasy from 2011, "Beach Life-In-Death" a 12-minute epic about alienation and the awkwardness of coming out. It expanded to 13 minutes on 2018's re-recorded version of the album. Glass Beach's clocks in at 14:07, so perhaps it's unsurprising that DSPs are listing the song as an EP. J McClendon pours a lot of feeling into Will Toledo's words, especially, "Do you have something against dogs?!" After a rip-roaring opening segment, there's a somber piano interlude in the middle, which builds into some deeply pretty indie-folk instrumentation. Eventually a subtle electronic pulse returns, and then so do the big guitars and impassioned howls. It's a wild ride, and you can take it for yourself below.
"Beach Life In Death" is out now on Run For Cover.
