Kids in Glass Houses
When: 15th October 2023
Location: SWG3 Galvanizers
Kids in Glass Houses are the Cardiff emo-pop group, who are return after almost nine years. Coming to Glasgow’s SWG3 Galvanizers on 15th October 2023.
Kids In Glass Houses emerged from the fertile Cardiff rock scene in the 00s. A British answer to the emo-pop explosion happening across the Atlantic. Swoopy fringes, skinny jeans, explosive choruses in little sweaty clubs. If these words fill you with nostalgia, you might be a Kids In Glass Houses fan already.
Lead vocalist Aled Phillips, guitarists Joel Fisher and Iain Mahanty, bassist Andrew “Shay” Sheehy and drummer Philip Jenkins started playing together in 2003. By the time they released their debut EP E-Pocalypse! in 2006, they were one of UK rock’s hottest unsigned prospects. True road warriors from the start. 2007 saw them open for the likes of Thirty Seconds To Mars, Manic Street Preachers and Funeral for a Friend. They graced the bills of their first Reading & Leeds and Download fests. Whilst earning a nomination for Best British Newcomer at the Kerrang! Awards and sign to legendary rock label Roadrunner Records.
In early 2008, Kids In Glass Houses headed out on a nine-date UK tour supporting Paramore and New Found Glory. That year, the band released their debut full-length album, Smart Casual, which hit No.29 in the UK charts on the week of its release. The memorable singles ‘Easy Tiger’, ‘Give Me What I Want’ and ‘Saturday’ best demonstrate the album’s charm; anthemic, bright-eyed pop-rock with equal parts snarl and sass. The ensuing album cycle saw them hit UK arenas in support of Fall Out Boy, plus stints on the road with bands like Simple Plan and New Found Glory, as well as their first headline tour.
Moving into 2010
Its follow-up came in 2010 with Dirt, a harder-edged record for which they decamped to Sonic Ranch Studio in Texas. With single ‘Matters At All’, the band had their first No.1 on the UK Rock Chart. That year, Kids In Glass Houses opened for Stereophonics on several dates, culminating at Cardiff City Stadium. They also appeared at major festivals such as Radio 1 Big Weekend, T In The Park and Reading & Leeds.
In 2011, Kids In Glass Houses released In Gold Blood, a concept record inspired by Mad Max, Bruce Springsteen and My Chemical Romance. Marked by maturer, grander sounds, the album received widespread critical acclaim and saw the band hit the festival circuit once again, cross over to Australia for the first time, and head out on their biggest UK headline run to that date. They followed that album up in 2013 with Peace, an electro-tinged record that returned to some of the lightness of their earlier work.
In 2014, Kids In Glass Houses announced their break-up. Their farewell tour took place in October of that year, finishing with a sold-out set at Cardiff’s Great Hall. In 2022, after almost 9 years away, the band announced that they would be reuniting in 2023 for Slam Dunk Festival in celebration of 15 years of Smart Casual. This was followed by news that the band would head on a string of UK dates in October 2023, kicking off in Glasgow before visiting Manchester, Birmingham, London, Bristol and ending on a homecoming show in Cardiff. A re-issue of Smart Casual is also set for release on 13 October.
