Phantasmagoria comes five years after the release of self-confessed ‘pop kid for life’ Ani Glass’ debut album Mirores (Cornish for ‘observer’). It is “about the process of retreating from the world and then re-emerging after a challenging time.” Just before the release of Mirores, Glass was diagnosed with a rare benign brain tumour. With this all in, er, mind, is Phantasmagoria a prog-rock celebration of a capriciously benevolent deity or is it a giddy Now That’s What I Call Pain Relief! pop parade?
Glass has been in two pop groups: Genie Queen and The Pipettes. The first was managed by Andy McCluskey, he of synth pop titans Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and former manager of Atomic Kitten. The Pipettes were The Supremes-meets-The Kinks. So, surely Phantasmagoria is a collection of ten pure pop nuggets?
Nope. Title track ‘Phantasmagoria’ sounds like Clannad combined with Thom Yorke-inspired-by-Aphex Twin glitchy beats, and the plucked guitar effect is the sinister backdrop to ninjas about to engage in mortal combat. ‘Arnofio’ (Welsh for ‘floating’) retains the glitch and the heavenly harmonies, though it’ll make you dance. Picture, if you will, the anachronistic image of Yazoo performing for the benefit of the folk in The Wicker Man. Given that phantasmagoria means ‘a confused group of real or imagined images that change quickly, one following the other as in a dream,’ this is not as far-fetched as it may seem.
‘Now You Know’ begins with ‘Radio Gaga’ fluctuating synth, differentiated by a semi-tone or two. You could say that the track is Girls Aloud channelling the spirit of an 80s coldwave chanteuse whose name can only be remembered by Belgian art graduates who survived TB, but that would be silly. The ‘depressed ABBA’ chorus and Giorgio Moroder-middle-eight are just two reasons why you won’t get bored of ‘Y Bore’ (‘The Morning’). ‘And The Dust Settled’ is carried by cello that is only marginally less foreboding than the one on John Williams’ theme from Jaws.
‘Kosel y’wn Mor’ (‘The Sea Is Safe’) begins with a very similar keyboard setting to Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ and pans out like Björk contemplating an especially pleasing vista. The beat on ‘O’r Diwedd’ (‘Finally’) is so glitchy that it may dysregulate your cardiac rhythm, but worry not, as the chorus sounds like Goldfrapp fronting a very undepressed and typically joyous ABBA. The descending bass line and keyboard shimmers on ‘Acwariwm’ will make you think of 80s film soundtracks (Splash?) ‘Rhwng Yr Ynysoedd’ (‘Between The Islands’) starts off sounding like Terminator 2 and becomes a Yazoo/Jean-Michel Jarre hybrid with a hint of Queen’s ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’. Final track ‘Like Waves’ is a brooding, organ-driven piece that will sooner or later soundtrack a medieval burial scene or the misty aftermath of a horrendous battle.
Another definition of ‘phantasmagoria’ is ‘a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined.’ Phantasmagoria is thus perfectly-titled: it’s synth pop, it’s folk trance, it’s gorgeously cinematic. If she wanted to, Ani Glass could do for Wales what Michael Flatley did for Ireland. Or she could give Jonny Greenwood a run for his money. Pop kid, soundtrack whizz…mae ganddi bopeth.
Phantasmagoria is out now via Bandcamp
Ani Glass: Facebook | Instagram
Review by Neil Laurenson