Glass Beach (band)

Glass Beach
OriginLos Angeles, U.S.
Genres
Years active2016–present
LabelRun for Cover
Members
  • J McClendon
  • Jonas Newhouse
  • William White
  • Layne Smith
Websiteglassbeach.band/main

Glass Beach (stylized in lowercase) is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, currently based in Seattle.[1] Their music has been described as "heavy indie rock", blending influences including punk rock, math rock, and mid-century jazz. They cite some of their musical influences as Jeff Rosenstock, They Might Be Giants, and the Brave Little Abacus.[2][3][4]

The band's formation and music is closely tied to internet communities,[5] and according to The Washington Post has "developed a cultish online following".[6] In early 2020, the Los Angeles Times predicted that the band "likely won't be playing cozy venues like All Star Lanes for much longer."[7]

History

In 2015, lead singer J McClendon made the move to Los Angeles, California, from her hometown of Burleson, Texas,[8] where she began demoing tracks and worked on her solo project, Casio Dad.[8] During this time she released an EP titled He's Not With Us Anymore.[9] Shortly after, while attending the University of Minnesota Morris, close friends Jonas Newhouse and William White heard a song from J's new EP on their school's radio station, and immediately found interest in the musician.[5] The trio quickly became friends, and soon Newhouse and White joined J in Los Angeles to live together and form Glass Beach.[10] For the next three years, the group worked diligently on their first album, The First Glass Beach Album, which debuted on May 18, 2019, under Run for Cover Records.[4]

Before the album's release, musician and artist Layne Smith joined the group as the band's guitarist after bonding over Dungeons & Dragons,[10][3] and immediately got to work developing the band's live sound and became a key member of the group.[11]

The band released several singles and a remix album following The First Glass Beach Album, for many of them initially on Bandcamp. These included "running", originally written for Bill & Ted Face the Music before it was cut from the film, and released in 2020.[12] The band released an alternate version of "classic j dies and goes to hell", a song on their first album, in celebration of the song achieving 1 million streams on Spotify.[13] They covered Car Seat Headrest's "Beach Life-In-Death" in January 2021,[14] as well as "Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance in July of the same year, for Pride Month.[15] The remix album, featuring Bartees Strange, Skylar Spence, Ska Tune Network, and Dogleg, was also released in 2021.[16]

In 2023, Glass Beach released an alternate reality game hosted on their website which culminated in the reveal of the name and tracklist of their second album Plastic Death.[17] On October 11, 2023 the band released the album's first single, "the CIA", featuring themes of fear and surveillance by the Central Intelligence Agency, with a music video directed by White.[18] On November 6 the band released the second single, "rare animal", about the disappearance of D. B. Cooper.[19] Plastic Death, produced by Will Yip,[20] was released on January 19, 2024.[19]

On February 23, 2026 McClendon released a solo album it's fine to dream under the name 'you are an angel'.[21]

Members

  • J McClendon – vocals/guitar[2] (2016–present)
  • Jonas Newhouse – bass[2] (2016–present)
  • William White – drums[2] (2016–present)
  • Layne Smith – lead guitar[2] (2019–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

  • Alchemist Rats Beg Bashful (Remixes) (2021)[22]

Singles

References

  1. ^ "glass beach". glassbeach.band. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Glass Beach: Better Living Through Irony". Track 7. August 3, 2020. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Interview: Glass Beach Discuss Their Restless Debut". The Alternative. January 28, 2020. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Glass Beach: The First Glass Beach Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Band To Watch: Glass Beach". Stereogum. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Chu, Hau (November 22, 2021). "Three emo bands fight the alienation of the online world by rocking out IRL". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
  7. ^ "Best concerts in L.A. This week: The Smell's anniversary celebration, Califone, Glass Beach". Los Angeles Times. January 2020. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Russell, Scott (November 13, 2019). "Glass Beach Sign to Run for Cover Records, Share New Video". Paste. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  9. ^ "He's Not With Us Anymore, by Casio Dad". Classic J Bandcamp. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  10. ^ a b The Making of The First Glass Beach Album. Run For Cover Records. February 17, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "Glass Beach". Terrorbird. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Deville, Chris (July 30, 2020). "Glass Beach's New Song "Running" Was Originally Written For The New 'Bill & Ted' Movie". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Rettig, James (September 16, 2020). "Glass Beach – "classic j dies and gets a million streams on spotify"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Deville, Chris (January 7, 2021). "Glass Beach – "Beach Life In Death" (Car Seat Headrest Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Deville, Chris (June 28, 2021). "glass beach – "Welcome To The Black Parade" (My Chemical Romance Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  16. ^ Rettig, James (February 23, 2021). "Glass Beach Announce Remix Album Featuring Bartees Strange, Skylar Spence, Dogleg, & More". Stereogum. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Machado, Arthur (April 22, 2024). "The DRIVE Issue: glass beach". Emmie. Archived from the original on July 17, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Pappis, Konstantinos (October 11, 2023). "glass beach Return With New Song 'the CIA'". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (November 6, 2023). "Glass Beach Announce New Album 'Plastic Death': Hear "Rare Animal"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Sacher, Andrew (November 6, 2023). "Glass Beach announce new album Plastic Death & tour, share "Rare Animal"". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "it's fine to dream, by you are an angel". j. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  22. ^ Moore, Em (February 24, 2021). "Glass Beach announce remix album". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  23. ^ glass beach (June 7, 2018). glass beach - neon glow (2018). Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ DeVille, Chris (October 19, 2020). "Glass Beach – "1015"". Retrieved February 2, 2026.
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