Cypress Grove (EP) explained

Cypress Grove
Type:EP
Artist:Glaive
Cover:Glaive cypress grove.jpeg
Alt:A boy stands in front of a street sign, shaking his head.
Released:November 19, 2020
Studio:Glaive's bedroom (Hendersonville)
Length:13:33
Label:Interscope
Producer:
  • Glaive
  • Brakence
  • Delto
  • FortuneSwan
  • FromTheHeart
  • Jeff Hazin
  • Coleman Slaughter
  • Valentine
Next Title:All Dogs Go to Heaven
Next Year:2021

Cypress Grove is the debut extended play by the American musician Glaive. It was released by Interscope Records on November 19, 2020. After recording music in his bedroom at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Glaive became a leading force of the hyperpop genre and signed a deal with Interscope in October 2020. Though Glaive is categorized as a hyperpop artist, Cypress Grove pulls from multiple other genres. The EP was recorded in Glaive's childhood bedroom in Hendersonville, North Carolina and is named after a street in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The EP gained Glaive a global fanbase and received widespread critical acclaim, several publications featured its lead single "Astrid" on their year-end lists.

Background and release

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Glaive began recording music in his bedroom.[1] During June 2020, the talent manager Dan Awad discovered Glaive's song "Sick" and became his manager. Soon after, Glaive regularly appeared on Spotify's "Hyperpop" playlist, became a leading force in the hyperpop genre,[2] and major record labels immediately became interested in him. In October 2020, he signed a deal with Interscope Records.[3] In July 2020, he was included in Complex's list of the best new artists of July. They wrote that "Glaive is a natural songwriter with a gift for structure and melody" and that it would be easy to see his sound become more common in the mainstream.[4] The EP is named after a street in Flat Rock, North Carolina.[5] Cypress Grove was recorded in a week in Glaive's childhood bedroom in Hendersonville, North Carolina.[6] [7] The EP was released by Interscope Records on November 19, 2020.

Composition

Though Glaive is categorized as a hyperpop artist, Cypress Grove pulls from multiple other genres. Colin Joyce of The Fader described the EP as "collection of messy art-pop miniatures". Pitchfork's Cat Zhang said the EP "is less "hyper" and more "pop"" and incorporates "Midwest emo guitar melodies and pop-punk angst."[8] Carrie Battan of The New Yorker called the EP "polished" and wrote that it pulls sounds from alternative rock, hip hop, electronic, and pop music.[9] AllMusic's Paul Simpson said the EP contains "upbeat melodies" and called it genre fluid.[10] Glaive called the EP indie pop and romantic.[11]

Cypress Grove contains seven tracks. Its opening track is "Eyesore", a song about what it is like to be a teenager that wants to avoid attention. The Fader's Alex Robert Ross said it is one of Glaive's "poppier" songs and contains "a synth line that would fit just as well on Katy Perry as it might on contemporaries like OSQuinn."[12] The following "Astrid" is a desperate love song that Derrick Rossignol of Uproxx said sounds like 100 gecs "but poppier and less aggressive".[13] Joyce said it "sounds like an American Football track played back at the wrong speed". The track is built around a guitar line and contains "glittering" electronics, a footwork-sounding kick drum, pitched-up melodies, and a minimal chorus.[14] "DND" is a Midwest emo-inspired hyperpop song[15] that targets the people who started talking to Glaive only after he begun making music. "Touché" is written about the discomfort and bitterness of adolescence.[16] When writing about "Hey Hi HYD", Pitchfork's Julia Gray said Glaive got away with the song's title "due to the force of his charisma rather than his age." Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the penultimate "2009" contains "sweet" and "shapely melodies nearly as catchy as those on Top 40 radio." The closing track "Pissed" presents Glaive singing about being irritated in an unaffected tone over a chiptune beat.[17]

Reception

Cypress Grove gained Glaive a global fanbase[18] and, according to Tyler Damara Kelly of The Line of Best Fit, the EP received widespread critical acclaim.[19] Writing for The Fader, Ross said the EP positioned Glaive "as the most promising kid in pop music" and called him "a naturally gifted songwriter".[20] Writing for the same website, Joyce said the EP "is self-possessed and confident in a way that makes it easy to forget his age." In a review of Glaive's 2021 EP All Dogs Go to Heaven for Pitchfork, Gray retrospectively called Cypress Grove "an impressive snapshot of modern adolescence." Pitchfork also included the EP in their list "31 Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2021". Zhang called it "an easy pleasure" and thought that "no quarantine hobbyist has had a trajectory quite like Glaive."

Cypress Grove's lead single "Astrid" was met with critical acclaim. It was named as the third best song of 2020 by Vice. Joyce called the track a "burst of adolescent angst, fluttering flirtations, and colorful character studies of various lost youths". He also wrote that the track shows "vibrant creativity" in a time when that is hard to come by. The track was named the sixth best track of 2020 by The Fader's staff. Ross wrote that the track "burns like a sparkler" and "has one of the best opening lines of any song this year".[21] It was also included in The New York Timess list of the best songs of 2020.[22] The singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey posted the track's music video to her Instagram story.

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[23]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jolley . Ben . May 26, 2021 . glaive: teen hyperpop prodigy with fans in Lana Del Rey and Travis Barker . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210526090958/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/glaive-teen-hyperpop-prodigy-interview-2948338 . May 26, 2021 . November 23, 2024 . . en.
  2. Web site: Curto . Justin . July 14, 2023 . Making Friends Low-Key Changed glaive’s Life . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230714142341/https://www.vulture.com/2023/07/glaive-interview-i-care-so-much-hyperpop.html . July 14, 2023 . November 24, 2024 . Vulture.
  3. Web site: Dandridge-Lemco . Ben . November 10, 2020 . How Hyperpop, a Small Spotify Playlist, Grew Into a Big Deal . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201110183928/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/arts/music/hyperpop-spotify.html . November 10, 2020 . November 23, 2024 . . en.
  4. Web site: Gardner . Alex . Moore . Jacob . Bugara . Billy . July 28, 2020 . Best New Artists of the Month (July) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230627200724/https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/a/alex-gardner/best-new-artists-july . June 27, 2023 . November 23, 2024 . Complex.
  5. Web site: Walker . Sophie Leigh . June 3, 2021 . Who is glaive? Meet 16-year-old Ash Gutierrez, the poster-boy of hyperpop Interview . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210603081516/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/glaive-on-the-rise . June 3, 2021 . November 23, 2024 . The Line of Best Fit.
  6. Web site: Gray . Julia . August 16, 2021 . glaive: All Dogs Go to Heaven EP Album Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210816043713/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/glaive-all-dogs-go-to-heaven-ep/ . August 16, 2021 . November 23, 2024 . Pitchfork.
  7. Web site: Joyce . Colin . November 19, 2020 . glaive is writing pop’s future from his small-town bedroom . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201119180318/https://www.thefader.com/2020/11/19/glaive-cypress-grove-gen-f-interview . November 19, 2020 . November 4, 2024 . The Fader.
  8. Web site: March 30, 2021 . 31 Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330131406/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/30-great-records-you-may-have-missed-winter-2021/ . March 30, 2021 . November 23, 2024 . Pitchfork.
  9. Web site: Battan . Carrie . August 2, 2021 . The Brash, Exuberant Sounds of Hyperpop . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210802105741/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/09/the-brash-exuberant-sounds-of-hyperpop . August 2, 2021 . November 24, 2024 . The New Yorker.
  10. Web site: Simpson . Paul . glaive Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211120214207/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/glaive-mn0003981487 . November 20, 2021 . November 23, 2024 . AllMusic.
  11. Web site: Young . Martyn . September 16, 2021 . Glaive: "These songs are more fuck you, I’m doing amazing now, I'm feeling great" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917135610/https://readdork.com/features/glaive-september-2021/ . September 17, 2021 . November 27, 2024 . Dork.
  12. Web site: Ross . Alex Robert . November 13, 2020 . Hear rising hyperpop wunderkind glaive's new single "eyesore" . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201113151508/https://www.thefader.com/2020/11/13/glaive-new-single-eyesore-stream-cypress-grove-ep . November 13, 2020 . November 24, 2024 . The Fader.
  13. Web site: Rossignol . Derrick . February 17, 2021 . Glaive Shares An Outdoorsy Visual For The Glitchy-Yet-Catchy Single ‘Astrid’ . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210217204521/https://uproxx.com/pop/glaive-astrid-video/ . February 17, 2021 . November 24, 2024 . Uproxx.
  14. Web site: December 9, 2020 . The 100 Best Songs of 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240813005749/https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-100-best-songs-of-2020-noisey/ . August 13, 2024 . November 23, 2024 . Vice.
  15. Web site: D'Souza . Shaad . November 20, 2020 . Sound Off: 10 New Songs You Need to Hear Now . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231202210157/https://www.papermag.com/sound-off-megan-thee-stallion-miley-cyrus#rebelltitem1 . December 2, 2023 . November 24, 2024 . Paper.
  16. Web site: Wood . Mikael . November 4, 2021 . Meet Glaive, the 16-year-old star of the hyperpop revolution . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211104215222/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-11-04/glaive-hyperpop-gen-z . November 4, 2021 . November 24, 2024 . Los Angeles Times.
  17. Web site: Yalcinkaya . Günseli . March 17, 2021 . Hyperpop is the new sound for a post-pandemic world . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210317232103/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/52088/1/hyperpop-new-sound-for-a-post-pandemic-world-spotify-soundcloud-glaive . March 17, 2021 . November 24, 2024 . Dazed.
  18. Web site: Dunn . Frankie . April 1, 2021 . glaive just conquered the hyperpop scene from his bedroom in North Carolina . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241120222618/https://i-d.co/article/glaive-hyperpop-scene-music-interview-all-dogs-go-to-heaven-ep/ . November 20, 2024 . November 28, 2024 . i-D.
  19. Web site: Kelly . Tyler Damara . May 18, 2023 . glaive shares details of his debut album, i care so much that i dont care at all . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240204041930/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/glaive-shares-details-of-his-debut-album-i-care-so-much-that-i-dont-care-at-all . February 4, 2024 . November 24, 2024 . The Line of Best Fit.
  20. Web site: Maicki . Salvatore . Darville . Jordan . Renshaw . David . Ross . Alex Robert . Sajae . Elder . June 10, 2021 . 10 songs you need in your life this week . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611123513/https://www.thefader.com/2021/06/10/best-new-songs-playlist-peggy-gou-darkside-bad-bunny . June 11, 2021 . November 19, 2024 . The Fader.
  21. Web site: December 17, 2020 . The 100 best songs of 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201218081945/https://www.thefader.com/2020/12/17/100-best-songs-2020-list-haim-bad-bunny-bladee-rank . December 18, 2020 . November 23, 2024 . The Fader.
  22. Web site: Pareles . Jon . Caramanica . Jon . Zoladz . Lindsay . December 7, 2020 . Best Songs of 2020 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201207100754/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/arts/music/best-songs.html . December 7, 2020 . November 23, 2024 . The New York Times.
  23. Web site: Credits / cypress grove / Glaive . live . November 24, 2024 . Tidal.
  24. Cypress Grove release formats:
    • Web site: 'cypress grove' Vinyl EP . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210501014550/https://shop.glaivemusic.com/products/cypress-grove-vinyl-ep . May 1, 2021 . November 24, 2024 . Glaive Official Store.
    • Web site: 'cypress grove' Digital EP . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220928212511/https://shop.glaivemusic.com/products/cypress-grove-digital-ep . September 28, 2022 . November 24, 2024 . Glaive Official Store.
    • Web site: cypress grove - Album by glaive . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201119172604/https://music.apple.com/us/album/cypress-grove/1539844811 . November 19, 2020 . November 24, 2024 . Apple Music (US).

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