“Arrive!”, the latest single from Boston-based post-punk rockers Looking Glass War, sports a title truly apt to its accompaniment. Spearheading a push toward their new EP Where Neon Meets the Rain, “Arrive!” is an electrifying, ambient blend of nostalgic energy and contemporary production values sure to captivate audiences old and new.
From the clarion call of its opening guitar throes through to a raucous, soaring conclusion, “Arrive!” is a declaration of defiance gift-wrapped in an atmosphere both refreshing and familiar. Cutting power chords punctuated by barbed melodic lead guitar work courtesy of Pete Zeigler slash through one’s aural defenses, girded up by Mike Ackley’s propulsive bass and Tony Porter’s firm rhythmic bedrock. “Arrive!” evokes an anthemic yet subtly gothic sonic architecture in the vein of genre tentpoles like The Cult and The Cure, glittered with a glam idiosyncrasy and punk-ish panache all the band’s own.
“To say our world is a ghost town now is just to understate,” intones lead vocalist Glenn DiBenedetto (known to the world as Goddamn Glenn). Lyrically, “Arrive!” succeeds in its attempts to populate just such a cavernous thematic expanse with what is both an aching paean to lost innocence and an acerbic refutation of ennui. “I didn’t predict we’d still be at this,” he muses, “but here we are.” Passionate and expressive, DiBenedetto’s performance brings an emotive presence and an aura of intensity to what was already a heady aural blend.
From a technical perspective, “Arrive!” has the raw energy of a live performance while maintaining a contemporary clarity in the mix. It’s a testament to Looking Glass War’s songcraft and the expert production work of Brian Charles, engineer Adam Hand, and mastering artist Peter Linnane that the song so readily captures the essence of the New Wave hits of days gone by with an attention-grabbing immediacy that never feels old hat.
Kicking down the door into Looking Glass War’s ambient, energetic aural world, “Arrive!” does just what it says on the tin, inviting the listener into an energetic and enticingly familiar space most fully realized on the band’s freshly minted Where Neon Meets the Rain EP.