Rating: NNNN
Is glam rock dead? If you were to check its pulse you might get a faint signal, but in a society that thrives on nostalgia, one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest eras seems to be little more than a memory.
Nobody tell that to Victoria’s Art d’Ecco, as he attempts to reboot the sub-genre with his latest release. On his 2016 debut, Day Fevers, d’Ecco dipped his toes into the glam pool, but now he takes a deep dive into its excesses.
Although it may sound like it’s from Mars, Trespasser comes from the equally mysterious Gulf Islands, off the coast of British Columbia. d’Ecco created the ideas and concepts for the album at his grandmother’s cottage while helping her cope with Alzheimer’s.
In his wig, lipstick and showy costume, d’Ecco embraces his androgynous role, but more importantly, he also has the songs to back it up. There is a set of glittery stompers in the sax-blown Never Tell, Mary and Last In Line, and a wonderfully poignant space-rock ode in Joy, which asks, “Why don’t they understand?” in an album that presents an identity that skirts the binary. But it’s the more tender, atmospheric wanderers like the orbit-reaching Lady Next Door, a tribute to his grandmother, and the epic odyssey of closer The Hunted that add depth and wonderment to a sound that was always so obsessed with image.
Whether it revitalizes interest in glam, Trespasser is the sort of rock album we need now, one that asks for inclusivity and acceptance.
Top track: Mary
Art d’Ecco plays the Baby G on Thursday (October 25). See listing.
music@nowtoronto.com | @yasdnilmac
