Gruide Find Quiet Intensity on Glimmer
Emerging from Tangerang’s steadily maturing independent scene, Gruide step into focus with Glimmer, a five-track LP released on January 5, 2025. Compact in form yet expansive in feeling, the record positions the band at the intersection of indie rock and shoegaze, drawing on familiar textures while shaping them into something intimate, modern, and emotionally restrained.
Rather than presenting itself as a loud declaration, Glimmer unfolds with subtle confidence. The EP-length format works to the band’s advantage, allowing each piece to feel intentional and carefully placed. Gruide favour atmosphere over excess, letting layered guitars, soft vocal presence, and measured pacing create a sense of suspended time. This is music that invites close listening, rewarding patience with depth and nuance rather than immediate catharsis.
The production plays a crucial role in establishing the record’s identity. Shared between Adrian Firmansyah, Fikri Chairul Rizki, Albertus Marvel Riady, and Kevin, the collaborative approach gives Glimmer a unified yet organic sound. Nothing feels overly polished or artificially sharpened. Instead, the production embraces warmth, space, and gentle imperfection, allowing the emotional core of the songs to remain intact. Guitars blur and shimmer, rhythms stay grounded but unobtrusive, and vocals drift through the mix with a quiet sense of vulnerability.
While shoegaze influences are clearly present, Gruide avoid leaning too heavily on nostalgia. Their sound nods to the genre’s hallmarks without becoming derivative, filtering haze and distortion through an indie framework that values melody and emotional clarity. There is a noticeable restraint throughout the record, a refusal to overstate feeling, which gives Glimmer its reflective tone and lasting impact.
Emotionally, the LP feels cohesive and inward-looking. Across its five tracks, Gruide explore moods of longing, distance, and fleeting connection, often leaving meaning open-ended. This ambiguity becomes a strength, allowing listeners to project their own experiences into the music. Glimmer feels less like a collection of songs and more like a single emotional space, carefully sustained from beginning to end.
Within the broader context of Indonesia’s indie and shoegaze movement, Glimmer stands as a quiet but assured statement. It signals a band more interested in atmosphere and feeling than volume or spectacle, and confident enough to let subtlety speak for itself. For Gruide, this five-track release does not simply introduce their sound, it establishes a mood and an identity that lingers long after the final note fades.
© Thusblog
