Wolverhampton unsigned band Glory Fades celebrate second EP release
We’re all looking to improve the way we do things,” says Glory Fades’ frontman Justin Griffiths, but everything the Wolverhampton band do already seems pretty polished.
A new EP that sounds like the work of a ‘signed’ band with a much larger budget; an easy-to-navigate website; a drive to get their music out there without waiting for interested parties to come to them.
It’s all positive for the future of the band and should enable them to continue their trajectory skywards rather than see their Glory Fade into oblivion.
“It’s been a whirlwind 12 months,” Justin says, on his way to a practice session at the city’s Newhampton Arts Centre on Dunkley Street. He’s a relatively new band member, having joined last Christmas. “I stepped in and it grew from there. There is a great chemistry and a great vibe. The fact we’ve got an EP out so quickly.
“It all sounds very polished and shows we’re not past it yet.”
Life began around Christmas 2015 for Glory Fades. All Wolverhampton lads – hailing from Wombourne, Codsall and Penn – they quickly got an EP release under their belt, Late In The Day, before their original frontman left amicably to chase other ventures.
“I joined last Christmas,” Justin continues. “I first met the band gigging with my other bands I’ve been in. We gigged together a lot and there was a great rapport between us. I had downloaded their EP as a fan, saw they needed somebody and thought, ‘I’ll try out’.
“It went really well, it was a dream to be honest. The original singer helped me out by providing and helping with lyrics and things like that and it was all very helpful. They gave me an instrumental to work with and I went away and put lyrics over it. That became Angels With Filthy Souls on the new EP.”
That second release – Everything Is Lost – came out last week. Six songs of American-style alt-rock it has stemmed from a collective love of bands such as Brand New, Thrice, Against Me!, and The Gaslight Anthem.
“We’re still gauging it,” Justin adds of its success. “We’ve been playing the tracks live this year and already there’s two or three favourites with people. We’ve got a few gigs lined up this month and we’ve just had some old-skool CDs back from the printers so will be selling those at them.
“We want to get reviews of the EP and get it out there. Streaming isn’t always so great for artists but people are quickly learning it is on Spotify and Apple Music and places like that.
“It’s having a good reaction though. We’d really like to say thanks to people for the nice feedback so far. We’ve got a good fan base for a local band – 100-odd usually turn out for our shows. They’re a loyal following and share our social media posts and download our stuff.”
The band worked with Staffordshire’s Dan Willett of Univibe Audio in Birmingham.
“The band had already worked with Dan and we went back to him and he helped us evolve our sound to build on the first EP,” says Justin. “He had tons of ideas and material. He’s great in the studio.”
They also had some help from another mutual friend – Amy Wyatt of Birmingham heavy rock band Secrets of Mariana – who was working in a studio next to them.
“Amy’s a vocal coach and was working with me on ideas. She’s good friends with Dan too and really natural at this kind of thing. We had this one song, Growing Apart, which is about two sides of a relationship. I just thought, let’s just ask, and she agreed to do doubling and harmonies on the track.
“It was great, she has a really lovely voice. We might try and ask her back again to do some of the heavier stuff in future but she’s doing well for herself as it is,” he laughs.
They’ve had support from Wolves too. The club have used their material on highlights videos before – ‘the game against Derby with that Ruben Neves wonder-goal’ – and recently used their music for their highlights package of the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“That video has had about 17,000 views so that’s been great for us,” adds Justin. “It’s been great to make some links in Wolverhampton.”
And they’ll be performing live with some of their contacts from further afield too. On October 27 they’ll be back at the Slade Rooms supporting Nottingham political punk act Ferocious Dog, while in December they are supporting Fear Without Reason at Birmingham’s O2 Academy 3.
“Ferocious Dog are huge, so that one should be a sell-out,” Justin says. “Meanwhile, Fear Without Reason are also good friends. They were pretty big 10 years ago and are enjoying a renaissance, they are very supportive. You sometimes just meet like-minded people and hit it off. You try and gig together. It’s nice to have a bit of a mini scene. Some of their fans want to see us and some of ours want to see them. It just works.”
For full gig listings see Glory Fades’ website www.gloryfadesband.com – they can also be found on Twitter @GloryFades_Band and Facebook @GloryFadesBand and the new EP Everything is Lost is available on Spotify and Apple Music.
