Glass House – External Forces
9.21.18 by Ryan Masteller

“The Glass House headspace.” What does that look like? Where does it exist, if it indeed does exist on a physical plane? Is it actually glass? Can you see through it, or is it all frosted, like the window in my master bathroom? Do frogs attach themselves to the frosted glass that you can see from the inside of your master bathroom? Is it hurricane proof?

I feel like I’ve gotten off topic here.

“The Glass House headspace” is gained like an unlockable achievement in Final Fantasy [number forthcoming], where you dig down deep to your inner being and, with the proper (and exorbitant) amount of MP, tap into heretofore unobtainable amounts of personal power, more unobtainable than Unobtainium from Pandora in James Cameron’s masterpiece “Avatar.” With this power you can choose to heal your comrades or deal massive amounts of damage to your foe, which may or may not look like creatures from “Avatar.”

I’m all over the place today.

Let’s all shut up for a minute, and before you start chucking stones at me (there’s a Glass House here after all), we must consider “External Forces.” A sonic feast for those scrounging the barren Bandcamp cupboards for any sort of crumbling sustenance, this cassette tape is a powerful reminder that the Philadelphia/Brooklyn duo is still at the top of their game, even three years after their last tape (“Headlands” on Lillerne). Thick slabs of delectable synth are drizzled with piano melodies, minor-key meditations bloom into serene ambient clouds. If these forces are indeed external, they penetrate pretty deeply into one’s inner being. Listening to Glass House is the sonic equivalent of trying to peer through the frosted glass window in my master bathroom, except on all sides, and as far as the eye can see. Pretend you’re listening to that.

“External Forces” comes in an edition of 50 from Oxtail Recordings – get one now, while supplies last!