I got this for my birthday a few weeks ago, and I've been listening to it ever since. I have to say that on first viewing I wasn't overly impressed by it; however with subsequent listenings the album has grown on me a lot.
The album starts strongly: The opener 'Fireside' has a great lead riff - first played on an acoustic guitar, then on an electric once the song gets into its stride. MA sound fantastic when they choose to really push the electric guitars into 'rock mode'. 4.5/5
The second track, 'The Second Hand', is altogether different, a piano-driven tune that has an almost dreamy feel to it, and I love this track too. It is perhaps the most distinctive track on the album. 4.5/5
The third track, 'Flowers for Guns' is another acoustic number. It's quite a serene affair, and I enjoy the Jethro Tull-style flutes in the background. 4/5
The fourth track, 'Unoriginal Sin' opens with a semi-sinister piano. This track is perhaps the first time on the album that I am not grabbed by a song. I don't particularly like lyrics, and it plods on a bit until the lead guitar comes in (which rescues the track, frankly). Even so, it's hardly un-listenable. 3.5/5
The fifth track, 'Paper Angels' is yet another that opens with some piano work. This is another track from which the first half I could quite happily ignore. Again, it's not *bad* to listen to, it's just nothing happens for about 3 minutes. As above, the track is rescued by some nice Josh guitar soloing. 3/5
(As an observation, MA seem to have more recently had a habit of writing slow, mournful numbers, and when they do they lose so much of what makes them a great band. Heather Findlay's voice is just a joy to behold: but only when she has some rip-roaring lyrics to sink her teeth (and voice) into.)
Things pick up on the sixth track, 'Tearing at the Faerytale'. I think the acoustic riff is another winner: it more effectively combines an eery quality with an engaging listen. This track also has some lead vocals from Bryan Josh, which redresses the balance somewhat. His voice is very smooth and as much as I rate Heather's voice (as stated above), MA need a good balance between these two singers to retain an interesting mix. 4/5
Unfortunately, we arrive at the seventh track of the album, 'Above the Blue'. This is, to me, the weakest track on the album. It retains the criticisms of the tracks 4 and 5: it's just too slow and predictable. This track could be removed from the album and no-one would even notice. 2/5
However, we arrive now at the title track, 'Glass Shadows'. It has the same recurring theme of opening with a lead piano piece and some creepy synthesisers overlaying it. However, in this track it is done BRILLIANTLY, albeit for a little too long. Once the song gets into full-swing it features a great guitar riff and Josh's best singing effort since perhaps the album 'Passengers'. It is an epic composition and justifies purchasing this album on its own. After a soft interlude, it resumes building and building... Then we get some great church-organ-style repeating riffs and it ends on a big bang. By far the best track of the album. 5/5
The ninth track, 'Until the Story Ends', is a much lighter affair after 'Glass Shadows'. It is a good change of pace and it sits well after such a big track. This song also highlights both Josh's versatility as a singer and how well his and Findlay's voices sound together. 4/5
The tenth and final track, 'A Different Sky', is a strange little number. I love it, it's just that I've never heard MA sound so mainstream and so it's quite a surprise. It's just 3 minutes long but I have to say that it concludes the album really well. 4.5/5
Overall, the album scores 39/50 and so gets 4 stars. If I sound critical, it's because MA have set themselves some very high standards, and this is still head and shoulders above a lot of other stuff that is coming out at the moment. The best parts of this album sit very comfortably alongside what I consider to be their best material: namely 'Passengers' and 'Storm Over Still Waters'. I would also add that in general I think the band dare to experiment and so there are bound to be successes and failures. This endears me to them even more: people who push themselves out of their comfort zones may not get it right every time, but when they do it is invariably even better.
