Jeremy Gloff Homepage

JEREMY GLOFF PRESS ARCHIVE
Reviews of my 'Jeremy Gloff' album
Released in 1998

There is this theory that cats behave in Circadian rhythms, which in layman's terms means that they are more active at dusk and dawn. Anyone who has a cat will know that when you are trying to get to bed, they are up flying around the house. Jeremy's music is just like that. Flowing in and out just as the moon rises and the sun sets and vice versa. I can see myself dancing my legs down to the knees to this, but also falling asleep and suddenly being woken up sharply by a turn of phrase or a sly vocal nuance. Over 14 songs, Jeremy lets us in to his world, and sometimes it's a very scary place to be. Which is not vile at all. It lets you examine your own demons and faults. You see, you are not as perfect as you thought you were. The music on this album is sparse and quite lovely. Mostly it is just Jeremy and his lonely acoustic poetic visions. It is filled out even more with bass, piano, and longing female vocals. There is even some "techno" on here for you club kiddies. This is probably the first album of 1999 that I feel is real and genuine. Hell, a few tracks even make me cry. So do yourself a favor and get this album now!

Last I heard from Gloff it was 1996 and his Midnight Blooming cassette had arrived in a big box with incense, candles, white lace and, in his own words, "a strong desire to be noticed...I want my music to be heard as much as I did before," writes Jeremy. "This time, I would like the music to speak for itself." Good idea! Gloff's made four "albums" since then, of which this is his latest. For the most part abandoning his Euro-pop roots (the synth-driven "Sky Above A Cloud" being an incongruous but effective exception), Jeremy relies on his acoustic guitar and rich baritone voice to put across his sad, true and beautiful songs. Unfortunately, without the disclipline of rhythm, Jeremy too often falls victim to awkward phrasing, which tends to undermine his message. But when Gloff gets it right, as on the gorgeous "The Room Of Dolls" and the painfully personal "Unsettled," he's as good as any neo-folkie out there. Mind the metre, man, and you'll get there yet.

This is the album that I am most familiar with. This was a period of time when Jeremy and I spent what must have been almost every night just hanging out. We were pissed off at the lives we found in Fredonia (a very small farm town in western New York). We were a couple of angry assholes who both had a lot of shit going on. I connected greatly to this album. Of course my meanings varied from Jeremy's own. Jeremy's friendship helped me get through this shitty time in my life and having his music was important. "The Princess" is a great song that will always be a favorite of mine. “Sunglasses cover Boxes in empty eyes...What a horrible time...To be alive... She thinks about dying more Everyday” I can look back and remember wanting nothing more than to die. I remember feeling that I needed to hide myself from the world. This song helped put my feelings into perspective.

This album gives a lot of insight to Jeremy's love and hurt. Still fighting his obsessions, his music opens one's eyes to this pain. “Driving by his house Each and every night...Just to remind him That I’d breathe”- "Today Leaves". One problem for me is that I am not really into the whole techno thing ("Sky Above A Cloud") but Jeremy has a way of pulling it off as he does with most styles of music that he tries.

This album has one basic theme. Jeremy fighting his obsessions while trying to come off as another person simply to make everyone else happy. The only problem that I find with this album is in "The Room Of Dolls". The constant use of "ohs" takes away from the beauty of the song.

Living in an area with no chance of a future and no real security, you allow yourself to be miserable and dwell on the negative. "Unsettled" says, “Hard to keep happy here With the ever-changing moods.” Sometimes you allow yourself to be so angry and hurt that you prevent yourself from moving up in the world and finding any happiness. I love this album and will always feel a great connection to it. Perhaps it is in part because it is dedicated to me (Bif) or maybe spending night after night being pissed off with Gloff. Whatever the case, this is an incredible album that helped me get through the anger. Jeremy and I both hated our lives and somehow have both grown up and we are both “able to move.” He says it best in "Able To Move", “I couldn’t love myself So how could I ever love you?”