Playground for Life

Though originally named "Hollywood," the music of Irish classic rock four-piece Glyder evokes the British heavy metal explosion of the 1970s and, more specifically, the distinctive twin-guitar groove rock of fellow countrymen Thin Lizzy. Lizzy's influence pervades the group's second full-length, Playground for Life, at almost every level. Frizzy-haired frontman Tony Cullen doubles as the group's bassist, while the folky, percussive riffing of Bat Kinane and Pete Fisher taps into the Celtic mysticism so effortlessly evoked on Phil Lynott's battle opus "Emerald." Opener "Gamblers Blues" teases the listener with wiry blues licks before launching into a majestic, three-pronged guitar riff replete with glam rock chord stabs and Lynott-esque vagabond imagery. However, it would be unfair to characterize Glyder as mere Lizzy offshoots. The band's sound is an impeccably schooled mixture of early heavy metal and psychedelic hard rock, a formula best represented in epic closer "The Merrygoround," which contains flourishes of Pink Floyd circa Wish You Were Here. Playground for Life sounds great from start to finish, but the songs are not so consistent. While there are a few notable standouts (particularly the title track), the lack of stylistic variation demands a little extra in the songwriting department to sufficiently differentiate the music and, unfortunately, much of Playground for Life lacks this magic ingredient.