Local Review: Die Shiny — Glory

Die Shiny
Glory
Nine Moon Records
Street: 04.25.2025
Die Shiny = Anne-Marie + Fleurie*

Die Shiny’s most recent EP feels like their boldest statement yet, jam-packed with explosive electropop and interlaced with razor-sharp lyrical wit. Short but not sweet, Glory’s six songs are an anthology of warring internal conflicts and an alarmed warning, blatantly calling out capitalism and the current state of unrest across the globe. All of this is put to the soundtrack of edgy synth-pop sounds, dark guitar drones and infectious vocals. Their bold lyricism and intellectual depth ring out like an anthem for the oppressed.

The first track, “No Place,” is an emotionally intense ballad depicting the ongoing internal war of self-criticism and inner turmoil. Unabashed lamenting lyrics start the song off like a gut punch: “I am a stupid, worthless piece of trash / and everyone that likes me must be lying.” The music mirrors the sentiment of each verse, juxtaposing a melancholic guitar in the first verse with vivacious, gleaming, angelic chords in the second verse. “I’m the greatest person that I know / And everyone who hates me must be crazy,” sings lead vocalist Callie Crofts, whose heart-wrenching lyrics express the emotional turbulence of life.

“No Place” reads like a song of exile — from religion, from love, from community, from the possibility of belonging. Lyrically, it blends personal fatalism (“It took me such a long time to find / There’s no place for me in this world / But fuck it / I’m in it / So give me a minute, will you”) with religious doubt (“Faith is for the blessed rest / Who cannot understand / Why I don’t believe that / Our Planet is the center of some plot / Conceived by sparkling daddy in the sky”) It is both confession and renunciation, wrapped in a soundscape that may mask or magnify the darkness within.

Die Shiny’s reputation for pairing aphoristic bite with synth-like, candy-coated critiques is present here in full. “Embalmed” shines as a glaring indictment of systems that eviscerate authenticity in favor of glittering, consumable ideals. Lyrics like “Now let’s talk features Mama / It’s healthy / And you didn’t even die / That’s called our premium package” mock how life, beliefs and identity are marketed as exclusive packages in today’s world. Die Shiny wields their electropop sound as a scalpel, revealing the emptiness beneath the shine and turning sparkle into subservience. Deep, brooding bass explodes onto the scene in this song, soon to be partnered with a territorial kick-drum that creates an enthralling backtrack to their slam-poetry lyrics, peppered with synth-pop licks like raindrops on the pavement in a summer storm.

Glory is teeming with earworming hooks and danceable beats, while still being anchored with honest concept-driven themes. Spoken word flourishes dance around hints of alt-hip-hop textures and emotionally layered storytelling, delivered with both defiance and vulnerability. —Sage Holt

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Local Review: Hibernaut — Obsidian Eye
Local Review: Anyone Awake — Bushel and a Peck