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Glass Beach (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Glass Beach
OriginLos Angeles, U.S.
Genres
Years active2016–2026
LabelRun for Cover
Past members
  • J McClendon
  • Jonas Newhouse
  • William White
  • Layne Smith
Websiteglassbeach.band/main

Glass Beach (stylized in lowercase) was an American indie rock band from Los Angeles and based in Seattle.[1] Their music has been described as "heavy indie rock", blending influences including punk rock, math rock, and mid-century jazz. They cite some of their musical influences as Jeff Rosenstock, They Might Be Giants, and the Brave Little Abacus.[2][3][4]

The band's formation and music is closely tied to internet communities,[5] and according to The Washington Post has "developed a cultish online following".[6] In early 2020, the Los Angeles Times predicted that the band "likely won't be playing cozy venues like All Star Lanes for much longer."[7]

History

[edit]

In 2015, lead singer J McClendon[8] made the move to Los Angeles, California, from her hometown of Burleson, Texas,[9] where she began demoing tracks and worked on her solo project, Casio Dad.[9] During this time she released an EP titled He's Not With Us Anymore.[10] Shortly after, while attending the University of Minnesota Morris, close friends Jonas Newhouse and William White heard a song from J's new EP on their school's radio station, and immediately found interest in the musician.[5] The trio quickly became friends, and soon Newhouse and White joined J in Los Angeles to live together and form Glass Beach.[11] For the next three years, the group worked diligently on their first album, The First Glass Beach Album, which debuted on May 18, 2019, under Run for Cover Records.[4]

Before the album's release, musician and artist Layne Smith joined the group as the band's guitarist after bonding over Dungeons & Dragons,[11][3] and immediately got to work developing the band's live sound and became a key member of the group.[12]

The band released several singles and a remix album following The First Glass Beach Album, for many of them initially on Bandcamp. These included "running", originally written for Bill & Ted Face the Music before it was cut from the film, and released in 2020.[13] The band released an alternate version of "classic j dies and goes to hell", a song on their first album, in celebration of the song achieving 1 million streams on Spotify.[14] They covered Car Seat Headrest's "Beach Life-In-Death" in January 2021,[15] as well as "Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance in July of the same year, for Pride Month.[16] The remix album, featuring Bartees Strange, Skylar Spence, Ska Tune Network, and Dogleg, was also released in 2021.[17]

In 2023, Glass Beach released an alternate reality game hosted on their website which culminated in the reveal of the name and tracklist of their second album Plastic Death.[18] On October 11, 2023 the band released the album's first single, "the CIA", featuring themes of fear and surveillance by the Central Intelligence Agency, with a music video directed by White.[19] On November 6 the band released the second single, "rare animal", about the disappearance of D. B. Cooper.[20] Plastic Death, produced by Will Yip,[21] was released on January 19, 2024.[20]

On February 23, 2026, J released a solo album it's fine to dream under her new project's name, 'you are an angel'.[22]

On April 30, 2026, Glass Beach announced their dissolution, stating "we are no longer capable of making music together that we're proud of nor can we tour in a way that works for all of us."[23][24]

Members

[edit]
  • J McClendon– vocals/guitar[2] (2016–2026)
  • Jonas Newhouse – bass[2] (2016–2026)
  • William White – drums[2] (2016–2026)
  • Layne Smith – lead guitar[2] (2019–2026)

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]

Remix albums

[edit]
  • Alchemist Rats Beg Bashful (Remixes) (2021)[25]

Singles

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "glass beach". glassbeach.band. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Glass Beach: Better Living Through Irony". Track 7. August 3, 2020. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Interview: Glass Beach Discuss Their Restless Debut". The Alternative. January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Glass Beach: The First Glass Beach Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Band To Watch: Glass Beach". Stereogum. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Chu, Hau (November 22, 2021). "Three emo bands fight the alienation of the online world by rocking out IRL". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  7. ^ "Best concerts in L.A. This week: The Smell's anniversary celebration, Califone, Glass Beach". Los Angeles Times. January 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  8. ^ Jones, AJBy Abby (April 30, 2026). "J McClendon Gives First Interview About End Of Glass Beach And Launch Of New Band You Are An Angel". stereogum.com. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Russell, Scott (November 13, 2019). "Glass Beach Sign to Run for Cover Records, Share New Video". Paste. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  10. ^ "He's Not With Us Anymore, by Casio Dad". Classic J Bandcamp. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  11. ^ a b The Making of The First Glass Beach Album. Run For Cover Records. February 17, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Glass Beach". Terrorbird. Retrieved February 24, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ a b Deville, Chris (July 30, 2020). "Glass Beach's New Song "Running" Was Originally Written For The New 'Bill & Ted' Movie". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Rettig, James (September 16, 2020). "Glass Beach – "classic j dies and gets a million streams on spotify"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Deville, Chris (January 7, 2021). "Glass Beach – "Beach Life In Death" (Car Seat Headrest Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Deville, Chris (June 28, 2021). "glass beach – "Welcome To The Black Parade" (My Chemical Romance Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Rettig, James (February 23, 2021). "Glass Beach Announce Remix Album Featuring Bartees Strange, Skylar Spence, Dogleg, & More". Stereogum. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Machado, Arthur (April 22, 2024). "The DRIVE Issue: glass beach". Emmie. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Pappis, Konstantinos (October 11, 2023). "glass beach Return With New Song 'the CIA'". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  20. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (November 6, 2023). "Glass Beach Announce New Album 'Plastic Death': Hear "Rare Animal"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Sacher, Andrew (November 6, 2023). "Glass Beach announce new album Plastic Death & tour, share "Rare Animal"". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  22. ^ "it's fine to dream, by you are an angel". j. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  23. ^ "glass beach announces dissolution". The Needle Drop. April 30, 2026. Retrieved April 30, 2026.
  24. ^ Jones, AJBy Abby (April 30, 2026). "J McClendon Gives First Interview About End Of Glass Beach And Launch Of New Band You Are An Angel". stereogum.com. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  25. ^ Moore, Em (February 24, 2021). "Glass Beach announce remix album". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  26. ^ glass beach (June 7, 2018). glass beach - neon glow (2018). Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ DeVille, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Glass Beach – "1015"". Retrieved February 2, 2026.
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