Glitterer Brings Post-Hardcore and Shoegaze to Birmingham's WorkPlay Canteen

Birmingham doesn't always make the list when tours in this corner of alternative music hit the road, which made seeing a four-band bill like this come through Alabama that much more exciting.

The show took over the Canteen at WorkPlay, a smaller space within the venue with an industrial, almost warehouse-like feel that fit the night perfectly. The crowd bounced between standing back and taking everything in and getting closer to the stage to headbang and move with the bands.

No Culture kicked things off after being added to the bill only about a week before the show. The four-piece North Alabama alternative band has quickly become one of my favorite newer shoegaze acts coming out of the state, so seeing them pop up on the lineup was a welcome surprise. They have also started building a name for themselves within the local scene, and their mix of heavy distortion and lighter, airy moments made them feel right at home on this bill.

Next up was Washington, D.C.'s Guttered, a young shoegaze band that may have had one of the best explanations for a missing band member I've heard in a while. They joked that they're normally a four-piece, but one member had to fly home because he needed to get back to high school and couldn't miss class.

If that doesn't make you feel old, their music might. Guttered already sounds years ahead of their age, and even with one member missing, their set showed a ton of potential.

Bleary Eyed followed and was personally a new one for me. Their experimental mix of shoegaze and computer-pop brought plenty of energy to the room and quickly won me over. They're the kind of band you leave a show wanting to dig into more, and hopefully one I'll get the chance to catch again.

Then came Glitterer.

Formed by Ned Russin in 2017, Glitterer has inevitably carried some association with Russin's former band, Title Fight. For a lot of people in this scene, Title Fight is a staple, and it's understandable that fans followed Russin into this next chapter looking for a little taste of what came before.

But seeing Glitterer live is also a reminder that the band deserves to stand completely on its own.

Russin performs with a level of passion that's infectious. There was constant movement onstage, plenty of singing from the crowd, and an energy that carried throughout the set.

I've seen Glitterer before in a room that leaned much harder into that stereotypical hardcore-show energy: stage diving, fans packed against the front yelling every word, and plenty of pointing back at the stage. Birmingham had a noticeably different feel. There was still plenty of headbanging and singing along, but just as many people seemed happy to hang back and take everything in.

Different didn't mean worse.

If anything, it gave the songs a little more room to breathe while still delivering the energy you'd want from a Glitterer show. Between Russin's performance and a crowd that clearly knew the words, it was hard not to get pulled into it.

Four bands with different takes on shoegaze, alternative, and post-hardcore packed into an industrial room in Birmingham felt like exactly the kind of night Alabama could use more of.

Hopefully, this isn't the last time we get one.