The title track here re-establishes Glasvegas’ key ingredients: spacious, atmospheric production, punchy drums, searing guitars and, front and centre, singer James Allan’s thick Glaswegian accent.
Also standard for Glasvegas are epic, sensitive stadium-rock sensibilities of U2 or Coldplay combined with the melancholy of The Smiths. Later… describes the mundanity of feeling depressed but the way it can appear “so cinematic” – and the same could be said of the Glasvegas sound. The appearance is vast, but there might not be much going on under the surface. ‘Youngblood’, for instance, relies heavily for impact on Allan’s artificially cracked vocal, which rings false and irritating, and ‘All I Want Is My Baby’ attempts an aggressive tone but is undermined by trite lyrics.
However, tracks like ‘Magazine’ and ‘Secret Truth’ show how Glasvegas’ expansive style can be used to good effect, supported by a solid beat and an interesting melody that allows Allan to employ some dynamics and the other members to really rock out on their instruments, as opposed to simply providing atmospheric clouds of background sound.
‘Choices’ is a standout track, which hits home stronger than the epic affectation of the majority of Later… as Allan delivers a stripped back, honest vocal (albeit still heavily produced). Instrumentation is also low key, although it’s not long before it begins a chugging build to the seemingly inevitable expansive chorus; however, the band undercut expectations and maintain the build until it collapses into itself for a sorrowful, sparse outro.
Glasvegas change up their sound less successfully on ‘I’d Rather Be Dead (Than Be With You)’, which strays dangerously close to melodrama with its minor piano arpeggios, soaring vocal, and angsty lyrical hook. In this case, the departure from the musical themes of the rest of the album throws into relief where Glasvegas’ skills lie. Their sound may be repetitive and overblown, but they are a capable band with a definitive, if limited, sound. I’m just not sure where else they can go when departures from the norm like ’I’d Rather Be Dead…’ are among the album’s weakest moments.
5/10
Reviewer: Frances Bulley