John Glacier is keeping it low-key. “Satellites”, the first track on her debut album Like a Ribbon, opens with distant, watery guitar plucking, soon accompanied by Glacier’s distinctive cool drawl. The instrumental and Glacier’s voice sound as if they have been recorded on a tape a couple of feet away. It is this DIY homemade sound that the London-based model and musician has become known for.
Listening to Like a Ribbon, one can practically hear Glacier scribbling down lines on a well-worn notepad in her room to stave off boredom. That’s far from a criticism: Glacier’s lyrics slide along in an easy, diaristic stream-of-consciousness. “Wonder where I’ve been / I’ve been hurt, won’t lie,” drawls Glacier in the first moments of her LP, almost as if she is recording a journal entry to mark her progress in the four years since her mixtape, the Vegyn-produced lo-fi SHILOH: Lost For Words.
It might be a stretch to call Like a Ribbon a more mature work: Glacier has always had a wise and cutting confidence that reads like a seasoned lyricist. A debut record is a statement. It is not just a collection of songs, but an artist’s manifesto: a milestone and a promise of the artist’s future. In Like a Ribbon, John Glacier proves she is here to stay, but she still has much space to grow.
John Glacier’s Like a Ribbon is a strong promise of things to come: a testament to her artistic durability and commitment to her roots, while at the same time a striking example of her still-burgeoning potential. Glacier’s signature calming flow and DIY beats still take the forefront, but while SHILOH often felt small despite its artistic merits, Like a Ribbon feels like a jumping-off point for Glacier: the bulb of a plant that can spread itself in any direction it chooses.
This album draws influences from a wealth of sources, synthesizing a project that can only come from one person’s private interests and obsessions. Instrumentals range from the lo-fi drill and Jersey-club beats of “Don’t Cover Me” and “Dancing in the Rain” to the slower, more psychedelic electronic tracks “Nevasure” or “Emotions.” Guitar riffs emblematic of the slow and rough Dean Blunt school of rap-rock are often accompanied by distorted trap beats and warbled 808s. Each song feels significantly different, bound together by Glacier’s stripped-back production style and flowing spoken-word poetics.
It is this diversity that Like a Ribbon suffers from in part. Even with Glacier’s personal, homemade style, it sometimes feels like things are thrown at the wall to see if they will stick. In the latter half of her debut, Glacier’s songs seem to lack the creativity some other tracks so effortlessly radiate.
The glistening, sample-laden “Found” is light and repetitive, while its predecessor, “Steady As I Am”, feels disappointingly like a throwaway demo, the point accentuated perhaps too clearly by the song’s tape deck loading-sound bookends. Glacier recovers with the more thorough and developed “Ocean Stepping” with the aid of R&B powerhouse Sampha‘s vocals, but the problem is apparent: despite its DIY charm, Like a Ribbon is uneven and could use a bit more editing; a little more doing it yourself.
Glacier has made it clear in interviews that this is a personal project for her, one of recreational creativity. It is not that she isn’t working hard, but more that she has no interest in public opinion or institutional validation of her work. On her commercial potential, she has said: “A major [label] might be like, ‘Oh, you’re sick, but we see you being this much bigger, and it’s like, who said I want to be bigger?” It’s a fresh take in an artistic world fueled by audience engagement and growth, and John Glacier seems wonderfully comfortable where she is.
Though her eschewing of forced growth is evident, Like a Ribbon proves that the door is open if she wants it. I am being careful not to conflate corporate-influenced dreams of fame and fortune upon the rare creative who doesn’t care about such things. Glacier can grow into a generational artist who creates by the beat of her own drum. Like a Ribbon may be a charming, unique project filled with exciting highs and half-baked middlings, dogged occasionally by its nonchalance, but it’s a stepping stone into a space that, hopefully, John Glacier will be willing to fill.