The luscious valleys of South Wales are famed for producing standout post-hardcore bands, and Cardiff quartet Glass Heart continue that heritage with a powerful and engaging sound they describe as “dynamic, catchy and energetic.”
The band, formed of Adamross Williams (vocals), Jake Bowen (bass), Nathan ‘Campo’ Campfield (guitar) and Samuel ‘Smule’ Gibbs (drums), have been mates for over a decade through various projects in the local music scene and the wider music industry. They first got together in 2012 in a former band – and we actually covered them in a previous guise as Breathe In The Silence in one of our new music round-ups back in November 2018 – before forming Glass Heart in 2019.
“Music is just the centrefold of all our lives in different ways, and we all work in various different projects and camps,” Nathan told us. “Glass Heart is the nucleus of that when we all get together and let our creativity in music and visuals thrive!”
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Since then, the band has fused delicious vocals with crushing riffs and atmospheric synths, with Nathan describing their sound as: “We think our music is the best, we’ve never been a band who will put out an EP with filler tracks really. We are very specific and it’s a long tedious process to get there. We believe we have a very diverse and great back catalogue due to our pickiness. Maybe this is blind pride, but expect soaring choruses, thick breakdowns and diversity and difference song to song!”
Our latest taste of this is their huge new single Dying Feeling, which was released last month. It opens up with a pulsing synth sound that continues as a filthy low-tuned riff and driving drums take over. Adamross’ engaging vocals come in and feed into a big singalong chorus “It’s the dying feeling of an empty heart, A love that’s faded, Only time and distance, tearing us apart, I see it now, And when I see the morning, It’s only you I see, It’s the dying feeling of an empty heart” supported by plodding guitars and soaring synths. The big riff jumps back in along with the pulsing synth and gives way to intense screamed vocals setting up a more empassioned verse. A second chorus ends with a vicious cry of “an empty heart” and crushing stabbing guitars over the pulsing synth sound, which set up a vicious ending.
We spoke to the band on the day of release, and Nathan told us: “The reception so far (being it only 2pm on release day) has already been phenomenal – friends across the globe have reached out already and are joining with us to celebrate what we believe is our strongest single and visual to date! We are super proud of this release and are absolutely buzzing to perform it in a live setting!” Check it out in the video here:
Dying Feeling follows on from last year’s single The Worst Part Of Me, which starts out in much more laid-back fashion led by Adamross’ mellow vocals. The atmosphere gradually builds before dropping into light synth sounds, and exploding into a deliciously low-tuned stabbing riff that sets up a big outro. And there’s plenty more music to get stuck into in Glass Heart’s back catalogue, with a few singles through 2023 and two EPs released the previous year. That includes a personal favourite Letting Go and the slow builder Colourblind, while their 2022 EP Weathered is packed with bangers.
The Glass Heart sound is influenced by all sorts of music, From Tame Impala to Lorna Shore and from Sabrina Carpenter to Thrown. “We go through phases as a band, we’ve written songs about things going on in our lives, loss, breakups, mental health,” Nathan explained. “It’s very much a personal experience between us as songwriters to talk to each other about what’s going on and how we’re feeling at the moment of a song’s inception.
“We’ve never seen it as anything other than a release for what is going on during that writing session, and the performance of that song after release to be a consistent checkpoint to see what we have been through individually. It’s a super cathartic experience, and we want to do something that feels genuine because it is. Rather than be like ‘let’s write this song about mental health,’ because that seems a bit hollow on the nose y’know?”
As you may have guessed, there’s no rulebook for what to expect from Glass Heart through 2025. They’ll keep recording demos that they link are worthy of their listeners’ ears and play gigs as and when it makes sense to do so – which included a recent soldout show in Bridgend and playing with our former NBOTW High Regard in London on Saturday – so keep an eye out for more.
And Nathan adds: “Go listen to our back catalogue, no doubt you’ll find something for you. And if you don’t like it, thank you for giving us a go!”
You can follow Glass Heart on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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