Glass Human Is Much More Than Math Rock

Numbers are absolute. Calculations, no matter how contrived or confusing, carry definitive conclusions, making math nice and neat and universal.

But math rock, on the other hand, is more like “bistromathics,” the fictional arithmetic created by author Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy universe that’s full of “nonabsoluteness.”

Even bands who play that type of music don’t really know how to describe it.

“I shared it with my friend and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re in a math-rock band.’ I was like, ‘Oh, shit, we’re in a math-rock band,’” says Emily Shreve, vocalist and keys player of Denver group Glass Human. “But it’s whatever you want it to be. I’m just hoping people will tell us what our genre is.”

When it comes to Glass Human’s sound equations, math rock — or the equally adequate art rock — is more of a catch-all umbrella term that means Shreve, guitarist Dave Sandoval, bassist Clay Martin and drummer John Willis pretty much do whatever they want, and these musical mathematicians certainly show their skills across the four tracks of latest EP, The Hive, released over the summer.

But packing prog and psych riffs, jazz rhythms, indie sensibilities and sci-fi synths into one complete package comes natural to Glass Human.

“We started to make things just go with each other,” says Sandoval. “Like, ‘This goes with this. How can we make this meld into this song?’”

For example, there’s an ambient noise section in the middle of second song “Tongue Tied” that’s resurrected at end of closer “The Garden.”

“There are weavings that happen as you go to tie it together,” Shreve adds.

“That comes a lot from how we like to perform, too,” Willis says. “We like to do the seamless set thing where we tie all the songs together, so we had the same idea for that album, which helped make it feel cohesive.”  

Catch Glass Human live on Thursday, January 29, at Surfside 7 in Fort Collins. Local crew Funscreen is also on the bill. The band’s next Denver date is Thursday, February 12, at hi-dive with Palehorse/Palerider and BleakHeart.

Glass Human first formed in 2021, after Shreve expressed interest in expanding upon her solo material, which resulted in 2023 debut EP, Timelapse. So The Hive, particularly the title track, is most indicative of the incarnation.

“The intro riff from Dave is additive, each time through is a different amount,” Martin, who joined in time for the June record release show, says of the opener.  

“You wouldn’t really notice it unless you’re really paying attention because it flows so nicely,” he continues. “The closer you listen the more there is to uncover and there’s layers of depth to it that you can engage with.”

“There’s some accidental tricky stuff that happens in that song,” Willis adds. “There’s this four-part drum polyrhythm with a back beat happening. There’s all this crazy stuff that’s sprinkled around in there.”  

That type of tonal geometry carries through the following three tracks, too.

“The Hive definitely felt groundbreaking,” Martin says. “It feels like the most cohesive and realized.”  

And there’s more to come. Glass Human, the name indicative of the fragility and resilience of the flesh, is working on an LP. Though a release date hasn’t been nailed down yet, it’s about halfway written now. But the band’s excited to showcase some more sounds.

“I think we’re getting heavier. We’re leaning more into the harder rock and metal sounds, like doom,” Sandoval says, adding there are even moments that could be considered blackened shoegaze.

“I think we’re scratching the surface,” Shreve says. “I think there’s weaving of The Hive in there, but we’re definitely finding some new, exciting places to go.”

The best way to get a taste for what’s next is to see them live, as Glass Human regularly debuts songs at shows before laying them on a record. It’s just feels more authentic that way.

“That’s how life is, lows and highs,” Shreve says. “Bring some truth into it, some real fucking feelings. It doesn’t always have to be negative feelings, but if it’s not coming from that place then it feels empty.

“People will feel that shit if we are feeling it, loving it,” she concludes. “I like things to feel really heavy, and I like stuff that makes time stop. I like to really create a moment.”

Glass Human, with Funscreen, 8 p.m. Thursday, January 29, Surfside 7, 238 Linden Street, Fort Collins. Tickets are $10 at the door.