 Glass Fingers crafts melodies that are at times calm and sweet, at others heavy and dancy. It is emotional electronic music- mature, not angsty, never trite. Recorded tracks showcase a meticulous polish, while live performances allow the audiences to feel the passion behind the music with primal screams and gentle whispers, all while keeping a fun and exciting atmosphere. Jesse Gertz, a self taught musician and the name behind Glass Fingers, has been defining and refining his sound while all of us were learning spell and tie our shoes. At 19 years of age, he is already well know in his home town of Portland, Maine as a top-notch performer and promising act to watch out for. Glass Fingers showcases an intense passion and emotional depth that is often missing in electronic acts. It does so without any of the whiny triviality of much emotional music. While the music can be, at times, serious, shows are always light and fun. Unlike many other electronic acts who rely on pre-recorded loops when playing live shows, Gertz seems to take great pride making sure almost every sound heard is performed live. It is clearly evident that Gertz put most of, if not all of, himself into making his latest, most serious work- "this". From conception to execution, Gertz designed "this" to be interesting, intriguing and enthralling all while keeping a sensitivity, honesty and sense of personality that all too often electronic music fails to capture. "...This incredible sense of personable intimacy is even more impressive considering the sustained use of electronics in “This.” While the use of synthesizers, keyboards and multitrack recording often creates a cold, unrelatable distance between the audience and the artist, Gertz’s low key, less-is-more approach, draws the listener closer into the recording to the point of feeling at ease. “Lose Your Mind” is a great example of this ability, as a simple electronic drum is interwoven with sparse guitar tones and a hypnotic 8-bit chip-tone as Gertz repeatedly pleads: “Don’t make me lose your mind tonight/Don’t make me chose a side/Don’t make me chose what’s right/Don’t make me lose your mind this time.”..." (see "press excepts" below)  downloads: Stage Plot | Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3 | Picture 4 Management Glass Fingers is currently self-managed  press excerpts: "This incredible sense of personable intimacy is even more impressive considering the sustained use of electronics in “This.” While the use of synthesizers, keyboards and multitrack recording often creates a cold, unrelatable distance between the audience and the artist, Gertz’s low key, less-is-more approach, draws the listener closer into the recording to the point of feeling at ease. “Lose Your Mind” is a great example of this ability, as a simple electronic drum is interwoven with sparse guitar tones and a hypnotic 8-bit chip-tone as Gertz repeatedly pleads: “Don’t make me lose your mind tonight/Don’t make me chose a side/Don’t make me chose what’s right/Don’t make me lose your mind this time.”..." -Kevin Steeves, The Free Press http://usmfreepress.org/2011/10/glassfingersthis/ "...It’s not that the first track, “Stranger,” is bad by any means, in fact it’s quite great, but I started to get the vibe that I would be sitting through a dozen tracks of synth variations, trying to find something to grasp onto other than vocals, of which there were none. I mean, the moment at the 0:50 where the beat comes in is undeniably cool, as is when all the elements that have been introduced come together at 1:55, but a whole album of these definitely had me worried. But this is not that, and as the next track, “Lose Your Mind,” began, all 80s bass and verbed-out European vocals, I realized I was in for a treat, and hadn’t even gotten to the best parts..." -Kyle Gervais, Dispatch Magazine http://dispatchmag.com/glass-fingers-this-review/ "Glass Fingers (aka Jesse Gertz from South Portland) is new to me, but they could easily become a new favorite. Somehow the music spans lo-fi bedroom pop, electronic ridiculous pop, experimental synthetic sound collage, and everything in between. Not to mention a really well-done cover of Ra Ra Riot’s “Can You Tell.” This is a whole wealth of really exceptional local music that seems to have come out of nowhere – but somehowDan Deacon found it and picked Glass Fingers to open for him at SPACE on 3/11..." -Bryan Bruchman, Hilly Town http://hillytown.com/news/glass-fingers-i-read-your-blog/ " ...The music is electronic, but Gertz makes sure to never bore you with over simplified rhythmics, or worn out beats instead he weaves a beautiful tapestry of electronic and organic sounds which washes over the listener as though Gertz himself were giving you a sponge bath... " -Sean Esten, Hell Is Only Knee Deep http://hellisonlykneedeep.blogspot.com/2011/03/glass-fingers-album.html |  music |
