By: Madisyn Siebert
Photos: Cory Weaver
Glove is the punk rock revival band of your dreams, with their futuristic tones and revamp of the classic late-1970’s punk era that many of us know and have come to love. Jump on this band before they blow up—their second album, Boom Nights, is less than a year old. So, how soon is now? The quartet has opened for Jack White, and most recently, Foals.
We got a chance to talk with the band after their set at Austin City Limits and learn more about what’s in the works and when we can expect another rockin’ album.
Bands Through Town: Thanks for taking some time to chit-chat with me. It’s freaking hot outside. How’d you guys do it up there on stage with the sun beating down on you?
Glove: We were lucky that the sun wasn’t hitting the stage when we were playing.
BTT: Do you guys want to go around and introduce yourselves?
Glove: I’m Rod, I play guitar in Glove.
I’m Bri. I play drums in Glove.
I’m Justin. I play bass in Glove.
I’m Michelle. I play synth in Glove.
BTT: Where does the band name Glove come from? What inspired you to choose that as your band name?
Glove: I looked at the Strokes first album, the US version. The cover was an ass with a hand. It was covered, it was wearing a glove. And we were like, okay. You know, at first there wasn’t a lot of thought behind it. We just went with it. And, we kind of stuck with it. But yeah, that was it pretty much.
BTT: Well, kind of going off that, how would you guys explain your sound?
Glove: I think it’s fair to say, like a modern new wave sort of thing. Very futuristic.
Future wave. I mean, we listened to a lot of different stuff, you know, when the band started it was a lot less electronic elements in the band, but, as we kept progressing, we introduced a lot more synthesizers and stuff. So, it’s constantly changing too. So it’s hard to, you know, describe. I hope that the next record sounds different than the first one and so on. But I’d say a modern new wave.
BTT: Going off that, you guys started with new singles in 2019, I believe. And then, it took ’til 2022 when the album debuted. Right? So you guys had a couple of the singles end up on the final album. Was it a long lead-up for a purpose? Was it Covid?
Glove: Yeah, it was Covid. I mean, we started working on the record in 2019. The fall in 2019. And we were hoping to have had the record come out in 2020. As you know, everything happened, and we think it was good because we ended up working more on it and we wrote new tunes for us. So, I think it worked in our favor, and it was cool that we kind of took our time. I think a lot of bands at the time didn’t know what to do, but I think as soon as it happened, we were actually like, okay, we can take this time to really progress with it, you know? So, it’s definitely a blessing in disguise. I feel like having that time was really nice to complete everything the way we wanted it.
BTT: I feel like you guys are the first band who have been like, yeah, it was a blessing in disguise, ’cause everyone was like, it fucked our plans.
Glove: Well…we have a lot of friends that were. They had records come out. We had this band Districts, they were good friends of ours. They had a record come out I think a couple weeks before the pandemic. Like, a day from going on tour with them. Then it got shut down right before we were about to leave. So, I’m sure if we were in that situation we would’ve been also, you know, like really. But no, it was great. I mean, we finished it. We went up to Nashville and did a record with a friend of ours. Yeah, it worked out perfect.
BTT: Great. And then, correct me if I’m wrong, is it Liza Minelli on the cover?
Glove: It’s a drag queen dressed as Liza Minelli.
BTT: Why’d you guys pick that for your cover art?
Glove: We were going through old photos that my mom had that my grandmother had taken in 1976. She used to put on a drag night at this place called the St. Pete Protocol, and it was all photos from that night, and it was a Hollywood theme. So, there was all these Hollywood stars in drag. Then we saw that photo and we were struck. We were like, this looks like an album cover. And we stuck with it for five years and we’re like, that’s an album cover and never changed our minds and just went with it.
BTT: That’s really cool. I love that. I feel that’s the most in-depth story I’ve heard about album art, holding onto it for five years.
Glove: Yeah, I know. It just felt right.
BTT: What does it mean for you guys to be here at Austin City Limits?
Glove: It’s really good. You know, we haven’t done that many festivals, like big ones like this, so it’s always nice to experience the stage, and I think we’re still learning a lot as a band to deal with the technicality of playing on bigger stages and figuring out the sound and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s a really good experience, I mean, to be along with all these amazing artists and legends that we love. We’re having a great time.
BTT: Anybody you’re looking forward to catching today?
Glove: We wanted to see Japanese Breakfast, The Marias, James Blake. We’re gonna see Paramore I think later as well.
BTT: I know we kind of hinted at it earlier, but, new music? When can we hear? What are you guys going for? When can we expect it?
Glove: Well, soon. I mean, we have some demos and, you know, I hope it feels different but in a good way. Like, it’s still us, but I think we’re just evolving, and I like the direction it’s going. I think it’ll be cool. We’ve been writing stuff; we’ve also been working with some friends, they’ve been doing some remixes of our songs. So I think we’re gonna put out a remix album of it. We’re trying to do earlier next year. Hopefully we’re trying to stay active every year, release a record so hopefully if everything works out and it goes well, I think by March you would hear more.
BTT: Okay, perfect. And then tour?
Glove: Yes. Tour. Ending the year with Foals and then I think we’re gonna try to focus a little bit on getting some new songs out and figure out what we’re gonna do about a record, you know?
BTT: Anything else you guys wanna add?
Glove: Find us on the road!