-
- October 16, 2021
After over a year of running Glassetonbury tournaments, we’ve reached our last bracket for 2021. We just completed our All-Stars special bracket, in which Dan Kiernan defeated Arlana to claim the championship in his second attempt. Now, we’re pitting the champions of Vols. 1-8 against each other in a Tournament of Champions to decide the 2021 Undisputed Glassetonbury Champion. The champions are seeded by which volume they won, and the winner will also earn an interview in a future edition of Glasse Factory magazine and more fun details to be announced later.
Let’s take a look at our bracket:
Each matchup below will feature links to the songs, a brief description of each song and artist, and a poll for you to cast your vote. Polls will close on Saturday, October 23th at 1:00 p.m. CST, and voting is limited to one vote per 24 hours. To prevent botting, we equip all of our polls with CAPTCHA protection, and while this is a necessary step to preserve the integrity of the tournament, sometimes this leads to problems when trying to vote on multiple polls at once. To ensure that your votes are properly counted, refresh the page before voting on a new poll, and make sure to click “Vote” again after you pass the CAPTCHA protection. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Campaign for your favorites in the comments and on social media, and don’t forget to tag and follow us on all platforms @glassefactory!
_______________
“Monster Squad (Love So Crazy)” – Sam The Astronaut vs. “little bird” – Tover (Arlo x Emi Grace)
Vancouver alt-pop duo Sam The Astronaut won our first-ever Glassetonbury tournament with their song “Monster Squad” (Love So Crazy). The upbeat, anthemic track will win you over with its warmness and heart, and it feels like a live-set staple. “Monster Squad” is the second selection from their 2020 EP “High For You” and is reminiscent of the style of music that fans of bands like The Band CAMINO, LANY, or The 1975 might enjoy. Meanwhile, “Little Bird,” a dancy, upbeat collaboration from Arlo and Emi Grace‘s collaborative effort Tover, released on July 9th. It features choppy vocals, a Latin-inspired instrumental, and a groovy outro worth sticking around for. It’s inspired by human consciousness and the collective consciousness we share. It won Glassetonbury, Vol. 8 in August.
_______________
“Right Now” – Cam Be x Neak x Sam Trump vs. “Woah” – TJA x Jay Willy
“Right Now” is the sixth track from Chicago-based artist Cam Be‘s 2020 album “Summer in September” and won Glassetonbury, Vol. 4. Bolstered by a bouncing bass line and garnished with a lavish arrangement of horns — which particularly spotlight Sam Trump‘s chops on trumpet — the song carries the heart of a 70’s soul song, offered through the musical lens of a jazzier Mac Miller track. Neak also comes to the table with a nice verse that acts as a perfect musical counterweight to Cam Be’s more mellow vocals. Meanwhile, Glassetonbury, Vol. 5 winner and Flint, MI rapper TJA collaborated with Detroit rapper/producer Jay Willy for “Woah,” a grimy hip-hop/dub-step fusion that released on January 19th. The energy on this song reminds me of some of Futuristic and Devvon Terrell‘s collaborations — with an extra dose of wubs and dubs to make you wish you were at the rave they were playing this at. The video features the artists living it up with a party bus, liquor, and a pet lemur.
_______________
“Heartless” – Luxe vs. “Midwest Dreams” – Distressed Damsels
Luxe’s “Heartless” won Vol. 2 of Glassetonbury, and it somehow manages to be both a hip-hop bop with some emo tendencies and a nu-metal headbanger with some trap influence and modern production. It’s a genuine, evenly-mixed blend of sounds that fuses together in a way fans of Linkin Park might flock to. It has the kind of pumping, heavy energy that would make it a great soundtrack for lifting weights or throwing some punches at a heavy bag. Lyrically, Luxe reflects on how he “lives life heartless” because he finds it “better than (living) broken-hearted.” Musically, it features powerful guitars, tight 808s, rock-solid drums, melodic verses, and even a string breakdown in the second verse. Luxe released “Heartless” as a single on September 25, 2020. Meanwhile, Lincoln, Nebraska’s Distressed Damsels bring a raw, in-your-face style of rock to the table with “Midwest Dreams.” The track features screaming guitars, angsty vocals, and a vibrant energy that feels perfect for a summertime carpool karaoke session on a long road trip. They won our seventh volume of Glassetonbury.
_______________
“Blue Jean Girl” – Brian Elliot vs. “Waves and Walls” – Huxley Sun
Brian Elliot‘s “Blue Jean Girl” lands in the quirky-cool vein of indie rock that reminds me of artists like Franz Ferdinand and Arcade Fire, and it makes for a positive introduction to the East Nashville artist. It has an ear-worm of a chorus with a huge drop-off that builds back up nicely. Elliot is just as heavily influenced by classic film as he is by classic rock, and that plays out in his cinematic, unconventional songwriting. He cites Quentin Tarantino as a major influence, and the more you listen to “Blue Jean Girl” the easier it becomes to imagine the song in a movie trailer playing behind wide-frame shots of sprawling desert landscapes. The song won our third volume of Glassetonbury. Meanwhile, a nuanced indie-folk song called ‘Waves and Walls” from Argentinian-born, Warsaw, Poland-based performer Huxley Sun won Vol. 6 of Glassetonbury. With immersive, intimate movement in the background, Sun captured a swelling tension that may draw comparisons to Bon Iver.
_______________
Don’t forget to follow our Glassetonbury: Hall of Fame playlist on Spotify!
