“The Beauty of It All”
Carly Glenn: “The Beauty of It All” Review by: Karissa Kelly
As spring rolls in, here at the Wavy’s we’re on the lookout for the best and brightest in our winter 2025-summer 2026 awards season. Among the beams on our radar, we have Carly Glenn’s November record, The Beauty of It All, a promising brew from the sounds of Garbage, Charli XCX, and at times, The Cranberries. It begins with a strong opener, I Pick Me, setting the tone for a hero’s journey for self-empowerment. Beautiful Mess follows, conjuring a pleasant surprise of strings that add a touch of acoustic naturalism in the midst of EDM-esque dance beats that gave me the impression this record could explore the idea of physical movement as a means of coping with the transitional seasons of life.
With Inner Child, the beloved strings make a reprisal and the lyrical and vocal integrity of the track definitely deliver. Worth Fighting For is skillfully woven into the transition from slow-song-to-faster-song, which is testament of the impressive recording and production quality of the record. Nearing the midpoint, Driving Through It is an upbeat but uncertain plea for clarity and resolve. The narrator is tough on herself, doubtful and scared, however through either convincing herself of it, or asking a divine power for answers, she finds her way to hope.
The EDM-esque style returns with Manipulator, which sounds like a perfect house dj mix for a city coffee shop. PTSD could be the next YMCA or Hot-to-Go, as it lends well to audience participation. Instrumentally, it gave me the treat of finding sonic motifs similar to that of Toto or Christopher Cross. Deja Vu and Tom’s Song share these common ancestors. Stronger Now throws us for a loop, but one that I like. The rustic acoustic sunset desert daydream it puts me into is reminiscent of Sierra Ferrell, Lainey Wilson and Gaby Moreno, and Goodbye follows suit. Happy finishes us off with a haunting but intriguing soundscape of soaring vocalization and feels like the result of a producer who loves their craft seeing what that switchboard can do. This record is certainly a hard one to pin down! Let us know what you think of it in the comments!
