CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTS WE CAUGHT AT SXSW!
LOS ANGELES, CA– I first caught GLOM at SXSW earlier this year, mid afternoon on a lineup packed with buzzy names and overhyped showcases. I didn’t know what to expect, but what stood out wasn’t just the music. It was the crowd. It was hard to tell whether they were longtime fans or just casual day drinkers stumbling onto a lucky set, but either way, they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. They leaned in, swaying and nodding along, fully present in the moment. And that says something.
The music hit that sweet spot in indie rock. There was a chillness to it. A kind of laid back melancholy that felt lived in rather than performative. That day, GLOM’s set felt like stepping into a long lost corner of a ’90s college radio station, where hooks and heartache played equal roles. I snapped a few shots of their performance (which are below), but mostly I just zoned into the music. I’ve kept tabs on GLOM ever since.
On July 23, Dunnevant’s latest single “Glass” arrived via Nettwerk Music Group. It marks both a sonic evolution and a significant career milestone. The song comes with a video inspired by The French Connection, filmed in South Brooklyn and directed by Matt Calabrese. It’s moody, gritty, and urban in all the right ways, but it’s the song itself that really sticks.
There’s a subtle intensity to “Glass” that creeps in the more you sit with it. Over a groove that feels almost weightless at first, Dunnevant opens with a memory: “Ranney’s got a piece of glass, found it on the beach.” From there, the lyrics unfold like someone rifling through their mental junk drawer, equal parts nostalgia and existential honesty. The chorus says, “A part of me wants to be the one to tell you everything is not okay,” and it lands like a quiet gut punch. It’s that familiar, relatable ache of trying to keep it together while everything threatens to come undone.
According to the press release, the song was inspired by beach trips with Dunnevant’s girlfriend during the early pandemic years. The serenity of sea glass collecting clashed with intrusive work related crises. That push and pull between peace and panic is palpable in the track. There’s a lazy beauty in the verses, countered by the rising dread of lyrics like “Buying things won’t hide you from the feelings you can’t speak.”
What makes “Glass” resonate isn’t just the subject matter. It’s the restraint. The instrumentation never overwhelms the emotion. Instead, GLOM leans into space and texture, letting small moments like a vocal crack or a melodic shift do the heavy lifting. It’s indie rock for the overthinker, the sensitive type who scrolls through social media with a lump in their throat.
With this release, GLOM also announces his signing to Nettwerk. It feels well-deserved. The label’s history of spotlighting introspective, genre blurring artists makes them an ideal home for Dunnevant, who is currently at work on his third studio album. Before that drops, he’ll be playing a show in New York City at Sony Hall on August 26 alongside fellow Brooklyn acts Sid Simons, Thesaurus Rex, and Meyru. It’s shaping up to be a laid back celebration of the borough’s indie underground.
For me, “Glass” is a quiet triumph. It captures the feeling of watching someone you love do something simple and beautiful, only to be yanked out of the moment by the creeping dread of everything else. That feeling lingered with me at SXSW, and it lingers now in this new single. GLOM may keep things lo fi and low key, but make no mistake. This is an artist worth watching.
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CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE ACTS WE CAUGHT AT SXSW!
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LIVE CLIPS
