GLYDER – Playground For Life

Based in Ireland, Glyder is a Hard Rock band that’s been around since 2004, and the group has released a couple of EPs and one full-length album since forming. Playground For Life is the foursome’s newest long-player, consisting of 10 songs and running for around 40 minutes.

When you think of the Hard Rock scene in Ireland, the main players in everyone’s mind are – of course – U2 and for the old folks who listen to the Classic Rock stations while reminiscing about the good old days, Thin Lizzy. Glyder definitely resides in the Thin Lizzy camp, playing a brand of gritty, slightly-bluesy Hard Rock with lots of aggressive guitars and energy. While hardly a clone of Phil Lynott and company, Glyder is certainly in the same vein. But that’s hardly a bad place to be.

Playground For Life follows a consistent path as it makes its way from start to finish: solid riffs and solos from guitarists Bat Kinane and Pete Fisher; well-delivered vocals from Tony Cullen (who also handles bass); and solid amounts of energy and grit. None of the songs on this album will blow your socks off, but there’ll be a handful that get stuck in your ear just the same. There’s also a good old-school vibe running through the album, but with enough of a modern sheen to keep things from sounding too dated.

While Playground For Life is a bit on the short side at 40 minutes, the likes of “Gamblers Blues,” “Puppet Queen,” the title song, and “Walking My Own Ground” will keep listeners coming back; they’re catchy and fun. Tunes like “For Your Skin” and album-closer “The Merrygoround” are a bit slower than the rest, but are atmospherically composed and played. All in all, there are no bad songs here.

The best thing that can be said about Glyder’s Playground For Life is that it is dependable and solid. That’s enough to make it worthy of a recommendation.