During the late ’80s, Alternative Rock had a new and interesting twist with bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Cocteau Twins. An offshoot of the free-form sub-genre of Rock-n-Roll, with distorted guitars, saturated tons of feedback, and a dream-like atmosphere, it soon became known as Shoegaze. It is almost as absurd as the categorization of Hair Metal. However, not carelessly slap a label on something; let us just say the music is ambient Alternative Rock.
With all of this in mind, Shoegaze, while panned by many critics, left a lasting impression on tons of bands like Smashing Pumpkins and the Deftones. With younger generations finding fascination in classics such as My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 album Loveless and Slowdive’s 1993 album Souvlaki, it was bound to seem through somewhere in the future again. With that in mind, you cannot help but see this massive influence on the foursome called Glixen.
Initially coming together in 2020, Glixen is an Arizona-based band led by Guitarist/Vocalist Aislinn Ritchie, Guitarist Esteban Santana, Drummer Keire Johnson, and Bassist Sonia Garcia. Clearly attracted to melodies and heavy fuzzy guitars, they built a foundation together and soon earned spots opening for the likes of Interpol and Nothing. A great way to get further exposure, Glixen quickly picked up traction and released several tracks between 2021 and early 2023 before putting out the six-track EP She Only Said in August 2023. An impressive mix of songs that successfully created an atmosphere; in 2025, they are back with their second EP, Quiet Pleasures.
Released on February 21, 2025, the new EP is available digitally through AWAL and on vinyl via Wichita Recordings. Giving you options on how you can explore the music, Glixen also called on Sonny Diperri (who has worked with others like My Bloody Valentine) as the producer to hopefully shape five songs that take their sound to the next level. Doing just that, a few years after the recording sessions of She Only Said, you can see the band has grown in terms of their songwriting and their ability to provoke emotion as they take you through a cloudy, fever-dream-type mind trip.
Starting out with the extensively fuzzy instrumental “shut me down,” the mood only grows from here with the haunting “all tied up” before “sick silent.” All heavily drenched in a beautiful wall of noise, there are also cuts like “Lick the star” that set you up with subtle softness before a full-on explosion of sound.
Overall, Glixen has a promising future with an authentic sound. The band is not simply a derivative of those who came before but one looking to blaze its own trail with Ritchie’s standout voice leading the way. That is why if you are a fan of everyone from Slowdive to Deftones and want to hear a modern act master an ethereal form of heavy Alternative Rock, Cryptic Rock recommends Glixen, giving Quiet Pleasures 4 out of 5 stars.
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