Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Margaret Glaspy’s Emotions & Math

margaret glaspys emotions math atorecords margaretglaspy ebruyildiz3
Emotions and Math cover artAfter growing up in Northern California, Glaspy moved to Boston. With money from the YoungArts Program she was able to attend Berklee College of Music for a semester. As Glaspy explains it, “I wasn’t able to afford school after that semester, so I snuck into workshops and master classes at the school and started to write songs more seriously.” From there, like many great artists before her, she worked odd jobs to support herself while she honed her craft. After three years in Boston, Glaspy moved to New York. She found new success in the city.

After moving to New York, Glaspy released two EPs and has just released her debut full-length, Emotions and Math, on ATO Records. The songs on the album reveal a wide array of influences. It is easy to hear 70s singer-songwriters in many of the album’s tracks, and Glaspy has described Joni Mitchell’s Blue as as “set[ting] the bar in my mind that I’m always striving for.”

Related Videos
Margaret Glaspy - Somebody to Anybody (Grand Street Session)

Prominent as that singer-songwriter influence is, it does not dominate the album. For each melodic, introspective track there is a prickly, dissonant one like “Situation” and “You and I” to match. The album is hardly incoherent, however. Glaspy’s extraordinary voice and guitar are the glue that holds everything together. The production uses a light touch, letting the vocals and guitar shine through.

Margaret Glaspy - You And I (Official Video)

Margaret Glaspy’s debut record is a multifaceted gem. The wide variety of influences come together and are projected as one through Emotions and Math‘s candi lyrics and driving guitar.

Margaret Glaspy - Emotions and Math (Official Audio)

Emotions and Math is out now via ATO Records and available on Amazon, iTunes, and through ATO’s official store.

Editors' Recommendations

Olivia Chaney & The Decemberists Celebrate Traditional British Folk Music As Offa Rex
Offa Rex

The influence of the British folk revival on Colin Meloy and The Decemberists comes full circle in the band's latest project: recording and performing with English singer and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney as Offa Rex. Titled The Queen of Hearts, the group's first album is a pitch-perfect tribute to '70s British folk rock filled with traditional English, Scottish, and Irish songs interpreted with electric guitar and a touch of psychedelia.

Chaney's voice is an important part of that interpretation. Both powerful and warbling, it recalls Sandy Denny in its clarity and expansiveness, but remains unique nonetheless. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" needs only the drone of a harmonium backing her. The result is a starkly beautiful take on the classic song. "Bonny May," on the other hand, is bright with a bouncy, ear-catching melody. The song runs through its six-and-a-half minutes at a brisk pace, telling the story of a lover who goes off to (and eventually returns from) war.

Read more
Bedouine Fills Her Self-Titled Debut With Laurel Canyon-esque Country-Folk
Bedouine Press Photo by Polly Antonia Barrowman

As the Bedouine moniker suggests, Azniv Korkejian's music is informed by a nomadic life. Born in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents, she spent her childhood in Saudi Arabia, moving to Boston when her family won a Green Card lottery. After Boston, the family moved to Houston, and Korkejian left for Los Angeles as soon as she was able. From there she spent time in Lexington, Kentucky; Austin, Texas; and Savannah, Georgia before returning to Los Angeles.

Korkejian's return to the city turned out to be a homecoming of sorts. She discovered a close-knit community of musicians in Echo Park, and as she puts it, "I just kept meeting the right people, who were professional musicians, and even though they were going on these big legitimate tours, they were still coming back to this amazing small scene, still demoing at home, and I immediately felt welcomed to join in on that."

Read more
Charly Bliss’ Debut Album “Guppy” Could be Called “Fun Songs About Self-Loathing to Dance Around To”
charly bliss

Though Charly Bliss has been around for the better part of a decade, the Brooklyn-based quartet is only now releasing its debut album. Titled Guppy, the record is filled with guitar-led power pop songs in the vein of 90s alt rock bands like Weezer and Veruca Salt. For the majority of its existence, Charly Bliss has made its name as a live band, opening for artists like Glass Animals, Darwin Deez, Tokyo Police Club, Sleater-Kinney, and the band's own musical forebears, Veruca Salt.

Robyn Hitchcock - “I Want To Tell You About What I Want” [Official Audio]

Read more