Album Review: The Glass Hours - Chapel Glass

 

Duo music never stands still, and while we often celebrate iconic names from the past where two voices melt into one, there is nothing more refreshing than hailing a new act to carry the artform forward. The Glass Hours are more newish than new but the latest album CHAPEL GLASS is getting a lift to find fresh ears. 

Within a few bars and an opening verse, you sense a winning ticket is in your possession. Fast forward 35 minutes (or more likely slowly savour the playing time), a sensuous charm with front porch solace holds together a patchwork of tender songs. American songwriters Megan Barbera and Brad Armstrong originally from Colorado and Alabama, conjure something special to mould into a keeper.

The ten tracks capture facets of love through a multitude of lens - past, passing, passion and place. Acoustic grace is threaded by a country lilt and you are invited into an intimate space where integrity is intact. The songs seamlessly drift from the enticing impact of opener ‘Adaline’ to  restful closer “Chapel Glass’. Get the two ends of a record right, serve a sumptuous filling and you have an album sculpted to maximum effect. 

One such filling is far from filler as ‘North’ gains traction with the duo in a twangier state of mind honouring the power of companionship. Elsewhere ‘Colorado’ eulogies about the effect of place, while re-interpreting the Leadbelly song ‘In the Pines’ moves to another spot of influence. ‘Providence’ and ‘In the Morning’ hold the core sound together and switch the spotlight theme inwards, always a safe territory to exploit writing influences. 

From a simple base and minimal team that paint a succinct canvas, Barbera and Armstrong invite you into their thoughts. Waves of contentment land into the listening sphere, not overfilling the space but lightly seasoning a zone with a scent of sweet Americana. 

This is the duo’s third album, all released on the Cornelius Chapel Records label, since forming in 2022. For UK fans they have joined the BPA Live roster and plan to head to our shores in 2027. The latest record will no doubt be the centrepiece to the visit and perhaps a conduit to what else is in their locker. 

CHAPEL GLASS keeps to its lane, a narrow tree lined one where you feel the dust, taste the nostalgia and hear faint strings strumming for eternity. The Glass Hours are organic to the core and impart a sense of reality. They carefully take an precious sound, apply minimal polish, then elegantly take it forward where all good new music goes.