Gloria don’t ease you into “End of the Race (YEH)”. It jumps out fast and stays there. From the first seconds, the track moves with purpose, like it already knows where it’s going and doesn’t want to slow down to explain itself.
The energy is sharp. Dark, but not heavy in a lazy way. There’s tension in how the song builds and releases, and that keeps the attention locked. The band clearly understands pacing. Nothing drags. Nothing feels thrown in. Vocals are commanding. Guitars are gritty. Bass is thick. Drums are tight. That’s really all that needs to be said.
The atmosphere stands out. It’s haunting and the message comes through without being spelled out. There’s a sense of warning running underneath the track, both personal and bigger than that, which makes the song sit with you after it ends. The melodies stick. The lyrics matter. Not because they’re flashy, but because they’re real and deep. What starts as a personal story slowly opens into something wider, hinting at power, manipulation, and the cost of trusting the wrong voice.
This sounds like a band that trusts its chemistry. You can hear it in the way each part knows when to step forward and when to back off. Everything sounds polished, but not sterile. There’s passion here, and control. It’s obvious this isn’t a throwaway release. It sounds confident and polished. We really like where Gloria are heading and our takeaway is simple: this feels like a strong statement from a band that knows exactly what it’s doing.
ABOUT THE BAND:
Austin Woodcock (Lead Vocals), Evan Butcher (Lead Guitar), Chris Richards (Bass), and Polly Clarkson (Drums) make up GLORIA. The four-piece band describes their sound as anthemic, psychedelic-infused alt-rock. Drawing inspiration from iconic acts such as Black Sabbath, Queen, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, the outfit blends a wide range of styles and influences from many decades and genres to create a unique modern sound. Their music pays homage to the greats while maintaining a contemporary, fresh-blooded feeling. The themes of the songs vary. Some, derived from very personal experience while others look at things through a more macrocosmic societal lens. The lyrics seek to analyse the human condition through allegorical stories and rich emotive imagery.
The group are back with the upcoming announcement of a long awaited string of releases leading to their next EP, the first of which being the dynamic, hard-rock, powerhouse single “CATACLYSM” followed swiftly by the tumbling melancholy of “Lie”. The band has spent the last year writing a large new body of work that they believe gives a true impression of themselves as artists and as people. 2024 saw triumphs for the Manchester based outfit, including a performance at Wembley Stadium for the launch of the new digital media platform ‘Cool Rivers’, amongst a host of other live performances and the release of the alt-rock power ballad, “Evergreen”.
