They get things started with "(You Are My) Whole World." Yes, a sweet number, a soulful number, a love song. And why not? We need these things, always, and especially now, when love seems to be in short supply. And we all need someone to be there for us. "My whole world would come crashing down around me/If you didn't hold it up for me/You are my whole world, and I'll hold up yours for you/Just as long as you want me to." It's not long before we get the chance to be impressed by Rachel Williams' vocal work. Those first lines are delivered with power, with passion. John Primer (yes, the Chicago blues icon) joins the group on vocals and guitar, adding to the strength of this opening number. "When every choice you make seems to backfire/When the voices in your head rage like hellfire/I'll do everything I can to inspire you again."
I mentioned how this band tends to give its albums interesting titles. Well, often the same goes for its songs. One of my favorite titles on this album is "Winter Came While You Were Gone." It's also one of the best songs. Check out these lyrics: "You say you love me so much, and you go on and on/But it's dark around here, before and after dawn." And again, Rachel delivers some excellent vocal work here, and there is just the right amount of attitude in her delivery of the song's title line. I love that, but I also love the way she varies her approach, taking on us on an emotional ride. There is a delightful power to this song, and a good dose of blues. Plus, it features some seriously cool work on keys. It's followed by "That Could Be Arranged." After a rather pretty introduction, the guitar suddenly seems to tear that apart and thrust us straight into mean and sexy territory, where Rachel holds court, like a goddess accepting the presence of a few mortals, ready to test them. "You say you want to get together with me? That could be arranged." Perhaps more surprising is that the song then returns to that pretty realm, and her vocal approach changes accordingly. I love how gently, how beautifully she delivers these lines: "You mindless man, so gullible/So blind to angles, imbecile/You'll find escape impossible/Because you're mine." We are brought back and forth, the band in total control. And, hell, who wants escape? I love that instrumental section in the middle of this track. And things get wilder from there. "Have I been taping all our calls? That would be deranged."
"Touch You Back" was released as a single. A good choice for that, because it's a fun one, with certain 1970s elements to its sound, to its vibe. It sounds like a hit, maybe from then, maybe from now, but a hit either way. I'm especially digging its funkier elements, particularly that bass line. And speaking of the 1970s, it contains a reference to Star Wars (which is also something that our current time holds in common with the 1970s): "The force with this one is strong." This track contains some excellent stuff on guitar. Ella Feingold joins the band on guitar for this one. I also like the more fanciful moments on keys. I appreciate that the lyrics include the word "obtuse" at one point, a word we don't often hear in songs, and it reminds me of a moment from WKRP In Cincinnati, another piece of pop culture from the late 1970s. That is followed by the album's sole cover, "Whirlpool," a song written by Marijohn Wilken and Fred Burch, and recorded by Wanda Jackson, who released it on a single in 1962. As Wanda did, Rachel delivers the first couple of lines a cappella. These guys do a really good job with this song. The track features some wonderful work on keys, as well as an excellent lead on guitar. But it is Rachel's vocal performance that drives this track. And those final moments, Rachel is just absolutely captivating.
Things then turn delightfully fun with "Mr. Pecker's Apoplexy" (another wonderful song titled, don't you agree?). As the song starts, Mr. Pecker's name is repeated, before Rachel comes in. And here she soon belts out the lyrics. This is one wild ride, keeping us on edge. "You say you won't accept the deal? You won't deny there's outside forces?/This is getting so surreal. You know, people get divorces." It's always great to hear this band driving into the stranger corners of reality, as it does here. This is certainly a highlight. And now that we're accustomed to the odder realms, we are totally ready for "No Matter How Much." The first line is "No matter how much magic potion I drink, you will not appear behind me," and so it's a song that takes magic potions for granted, or at least it seems to. Soon we learn just what that magic potion is. There is an interesting intensity to this track, mostly in the work on keys. Check out that delicious lead in the middle. That's one of my favorite moments of the whole album. It's just fantastic. And then the keyboard takes us momentarily into a fairy tale land before that intensity comes pounding back, as Rachel's vocals return. And then I just have to laugh out of pure joy at the repeated line "Shame on you, Kentucky," which concludes the song.
On "The Aftermath," Rachel's vocal work has a certain beauty, and so lines like "I was next in line after nobody, so I never did arrive/Are they still looking for me?" surprise us. Again, reality is something this band uses like clay, shaping it into whatever forms they desire. This is another wonderful song, ending with the question, "Are they still looking for me?" The band then goes in another direction with "Don't Give It Up To The Thieves," the lyrics delivered as a sort of rap, which surprises us at first, then feels right. "The thieves are coming for your innocence/They'll leave you with nothing but common sense/They're disgusted by all they have learned/Keep on trusting even if you get burned." Man, this band can do anything. The album concludes with a song titled "There Is No Other Side," which stood out to me the first time I glanced at the track list, two thoughts immediately occuring to me: a response to the fallacy that there are two sides to every story or every argument, and the idea that there is nothing after this life, that when we're dead, we're dead. And so it was a song I was particularly curious about. From its first line, "No Heaven. No Eden. No Hell. No grand Elysium. No Pandemonium," it's clear which direction this band is going. I love this. I wish people would recognize and acknowledge that this life is likely all we get. I have a feeling things would greatly improve here. This is it, friends. There is no other side. This is a short, beautiful song. And that's what this life is too.
CD Track List
- (You Are My) Whole World
- Winter Came While You Were Gone
- That Could Be Arranged
- Touch You Back
- Whirlpool
- Mr. Pecker's Apoplexy
- No Matter How Much
- The Aftermath
- Don't Give It Up To The Thieves
- There Is No Other Side
Garage Glamour is scheduled to be released on June 5, 2026 on Pravda Records (though some websites list the date as July 10th). The album release party is on June 6th, at North Street Cabaret in Madison, Wisconsin. Though, hold on, they also have a show on June 5th, that one at Gibson Community Music Hall in Appleton, Wisconsin, and I imagine that too would be an album release party.
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