I Expect To See You At The Glass' CD Release Party at Young Avenue Deli Tonight.

The effort it takes to bring something into the world often parallels how glorious that thing turns out to be. Take the case of Memphis band The Glass, a band whose second full-length CD, entitled Hibernation fits neatly into this paradigm for not only how it sounds but for how difficult it was in coming to fruition.

The record was originally nearly finished when, in early March, Easley-McCain Recording services caught fire leaving the tracks irretriveable. A series of personal difficulties plagued the band in and around the same time. The disenchantment felt by the band's members in personal issues extended into their professional lives with the immense weight of the record's loss. But like Michael Jordan with the flu, the band refused to be knocked down, re-tracked the entire album during one grueling week, and have come back to mark this testament to their hard work as their highest-scoring game thus far.

When you see them tonight at the Young Avenue Deli, it is important that you buy the record. It's important not just for the story but for the music the album contains. The great reward promised in the frame of a new house can only be fully understood when you can see how beautiful the finished home truly is. This is what great music, at its core, is all about. The Glass have built a palace from ashes, and we should all feel so lucky that we get to walk inside and bask in the phoenix glow for ourselves.