Glyder - 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow'

A fine homage to Thin Lizzy, with a metal heart all its own.

Though Northern Ireland troupe The Answer have been lauded as one of rock ‘n roll’s modern saviors for a number of years by the Euro press, the act has yet to make a definable impact here in the States. Let’s hope that the same fate doesn’t befall this other group of Irish lads—who’ve coincidentally been kicking at it for almost the same amount of time—by the name of Glyder.

Of course, this doesn’t seem too likely, given the all in/balls out nature of their latest long player, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow; an album which rocks the party in prime Thin Lizzy style, doing quite well the heritage of their homeland in spades. Hell, Glyder even have the boon of having been endorsed by Ms. Philomena Lynott herself, the mother of Thin Lizzy’s late, great frontman/bassist, Philip Parris Lynott. If Philo’s mum thinks Glyder are the real thing, who are we to argue, right?

The band’s frontman Tony Cullen even follows Phil’s lead as Glyder’s bassist and singer—a soulful, swaggering chap full of blues ‘n bravado to spare—while the axe attack of Bat Kinane and Pete Fisher rep the twin-slinging skills of classic Lizzy in spades, even if the real meat ‘n potatoes of Yesterday Today and Tomorrow lies within the album’s stocky riff attack.

Yes, songs such as “Innocent Eyes” possess dual harmonies a-plenty for traditionalists, but Yesterday Today and Tomorrow is no mere photocopy, but rather a portrait of Glyder as their own rock ‘n roll force of nature: a raucous bunch who have come with all of the goods, and who aren’t afraid to use them liberally.