Glasshouse Red Spider Mite share their much awaited debut EP ‘What Do You Mean The Monster?… Hahaha’ on its first vinyl pressing.
Recorded by Louis Milburn (Folly Group) - a “one of a kind friend & talented producer” according to bassist Alex - in the back of an audio equipment shop, the EP is a diverse but cohesive collection of slow-burners, delivering an incredibly well-developed exploration of instrumental and lyrical storytelling, and the band’s longstanding musical relationships with each other.
Growing up together in Devon, and initially forced together by the encouragement of a secondary school music teacher, Glasshouse Red Spider Mite began in earnest in 2023 in Brighton. Their first two singles in 2024 created a buzz in the local scene and industry; with this EP they have attempted to create their first signature body of work, and plant their flag in the ground. The band say “The songs were written before we even dreamt of playing our first shows, let alone before seeing the release of our first music as a band. No one knew about these songs & we weren't exactly sure if people would one day hear them. They only existed between us four until we found the courage to give this band a go.”
Drummer Benji explains that the EP is “a testament to our friendship, a strong bond & commitment to the cause. A vessel for therapy - helping each other keep mobilised, in belief & pushing towards a collective objective or something out of our individual control or capacities… an emotional outpouring of vulnerability, absolute honesty & healing.”
The EP immerses the listener, carefully rising from tense beginnings into unflinching heights. Guitarist Ethan says that the songs “all help to tell a story from a time that feels hard to put into words.” Each rhythm is a fault line waiting to crack open. Despite this, the tracks manage to remain sensitive in their delivery, through layers of swelling guitar, atmospheric strings and insistent percussion. Slow-building, deliberate, and massive in its impact. The band say this EP is about “facing all the pieces of yourself that you’ve let run riot. It’s about revealing yourself to yourself. Questioning your judgements & challenging your laurels. Using past pain to build a fear-free future. It’s post-rock. It’s the sound of the hole in your heart & the pit in your stomach.”
On ‘What Do You Mean The Monster…’ the band have tried to “encapsulate the highs & lows which the 'monster' that life seems to be, swallows you whole… there's been a lot of change, turbulence & learning to understand ourselves, which we think is trapped in the music we make.”