Glyder have only been going since 2004 but have already carved a niche out in the Classic Rock genre. Their last release ‘Playground for Life’ is one of the better albums of the last twelve months and being well received by the media I suppose it’s not too much of a surprise to see this follow up EP. However be warned as basically this contains material deemed not suitable for previous albums. Hence you get stuff that the band have been performing since their pub rock days and oddity’s they simply wanted to record. 

So no, you can’t blame them for wanting to get something out there to keep the momentum going, but I have to say that some of the material here should have remained in the pubs and clubs. If that sound’s harsh believe me when I say that the picture of the band on the back, with them looking all ‘doey eyed’, made it difficult to type that (sob). They seem like a decent bunch of geezers.  Opener ‘Brewin’ up a Storm’ has a catchy enough chorus and was a hit back in Ireland (Glyder hail from the Wicklow area) for another Irish band back in 1990, but it sounds dated and dare I say a bit cheesy now. Final track ‘Lay Down’ means well, with its Rory Gallagher influences, but it just doesn’t sit with the band at all. It ends up sounding like a very average homage to country & western music.  

‘Fill your head with Rock’ is a bit more like the Glyder we know and love with an obvious ‘Lynott/Lizzy’ influence but still somehow fails to catch fire. So it’s not looking good so far. But wait...what’s this?Track 2 ‘Love never Dies’ (apparently a song that ‘didn’t fit in with the albums’) is an amazing piece of Classic Rock mayhem. The band must have been bonkers to ignore this gem for so long. It’s one of my fave’s of 2008! An awesome mixture of gothic rocking and Celtic emoting, ‘Love never Dies’ has got it all and title track ‘Weather the Storm’ is another cracker, albeit if you like prog rock from the early seventies. It was like listening to an old ‘Camel’ song complete with lighted joysticks on the six form, common room floor! The atmosphere Glyder have created on here is an amazing. 

So there you have it. Glyder are a superb band that I’m sure, when they get back to writing for their next album, will come up with a set of songs more cohesive and honest to ‘Playground for Life’. As it stands this EP is a mixed bag of previous material but worth it for ‘Love Never Dies and ‘Weather the Storm’.