Album Review: Andy Suzuki & The Method Reveal “The Glass Hour”
Andy Suzuki & The Method (AM) just dropped The Glass Hour. The Brooklyn duo are known for their experimental sounds, and their fearlessness at being one of the few artists that use any genre to have what is in their heart created honestly. Genre-bending is not as easy as you think. Usually, people meld their influences of 2 or 3 music genres, but AM will grab from gospel, jazz, rock, pop, and any music to reach their listener. The result is an album that emotionally ranges from tender to tumultuous.
Sonically, The Glass Hour is precise in its potency. Andy Suzuki & The Method are meticulous in how they place each beat into their songs, which makes sense because one song can have a drastic sound change. Tracks like “I Can’t Live” and “Come Forward” do not sound like the same songs from beginning to end. AM arrange their tracks like novels, to which they add an emotional climax 3 quarters into the song so that listeners become inspired by the end. Hence, their desire to course through genres to reflect their lyrical highs and lows. When you have so much burgeoning creativity, why stick to a singular sound? Why not combine every sonic until you have a singular style? Thus, the genius of Andy Suzuki & The Method is that they are not trying create their own sound but their own music style, of which sentiment is the center of their motivation.
Andy Suzuki & The Method will draw out a gospel chorus just for you to feel the devastation of wanting someone more the less they want you (“I Need You More (The More You Leave)”) or they will bring out a tribal drum to make you feel their desire to be present in the sweetness of life before it turns sour (“Fire”). That type of dedication is what makes The Glass Hour such a fun album. You never know where they are going sonically or what emotions they want to pull out of you. Moreover, you find yourself admiring their ability to scope through your mind and heart like a film reel; showing you images of your greatest and lowest moments. You will be enthralled by their ability to capture your life like it is a movie-special being played in Heaven, which makes this album one to play when you feel both thoughtful and excited about life. Usually, when people become pensive, they get quiet, but The Glass Hour has enough rhythmic adrenaline to make thinking feel active rather than still. Yet, having so much capacity means they need a center to fall back on, of which Andy Suzuki’s vocals provide that balance.
For scaling through every music genre, Andy Suzuki has the perfect pop voice,which is why, despite the vastness of AM’s style, each song is radio-friendly. Suzuki has a voice with good range that can emote sentiment to each beat. In some ways, Suzuki comes off like an actor in this album, of which he knows how to play the nuances of his voice to give listeners’ a sensory experience. While you believe it is the wide-range of instrumentals playing your heart strings, it is actually Suzuki’s firm voice that is causing you to absorb the album further. Having a voice that shows strength through vulnerability allows him to guide listeners through the experimental aspect of The Glass Hour. After all, when you decide to swim in the ocean, you have to be aware of the waves. For Andy Suzuki & The Method, they are well aware that being different does not necessarily mean being good, which is why I admire The Glass Hour for being an album that dares to be unique but successfully works at being good. To Buy Andy Suzuki & The Method’s The Glass Hour Click Here.
