Afternoon Bike Ride - “Glossover”

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 6

Pairs Well With…Sadurn, Big Thief, Water From Your Eyes

There’s no new music from lush, folk rock band Afternoon Bike Ride since last year’s writeup, so another run through latest LP Glossover will do to catch the band’s cinematic-pop angles and lovely, DIY atmospherics. A little lo fi and for good reason, Glossover is a record that feels like it holds back, though is subtly detailed and adventurous in moments throughout. Transferring acoustic ballads into a territory that is naturally fuzzy, Afternoon Bike Ride do not use that method to distort their vibe, rather there’s psych-pop ease in way they pull off delicacy and experimentation that criss-cross in an oddly natural way. (Kevin McStravick)  

2023 Review: Advice for listening to Afternoon Bike Ride’s latest record Glossover: turn it up. Not in a head-banging, cranking to 11 way, rather to literally turn the volume up to appreciate the details of the band’s quiet, textured take on melancholy folk-rock. Acoustic guitars and twee melodies are there, sure, but around that core are elements from EDM and ambient electronic music. While most artists would take house rhythms and bass beats from the genre to deepen a folk-based sound, Afternoon Bike Ride do the opposite. They pull melody and harmony instead from their electronic influences, creating a palette that moves from ghosty and mysterious to breezy, lounge grooves.