The Glory Box

The Glory Box were an Indie pop / Indie rock band from Melbourne, Australia. They existed from 1988 until their breakup in 1993. They released several 7" vinyl singles and a 12" vinly EP, as well as a full-length CD album and a compilation CD on Shock Records. The band have reunited sporadically for gigs since their initial break up, beginning in 2006.
History
The Glory Box were one of a number of promising Melbourne bands that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s that also included, amongst others, Underground Lovers, Ripe, Autohaze, The Fauves, The Killjoys, The Hollowmen, Sea Stories and Pray TV.
The Glory Box were: Matt Aston (vocals), Daniel Haskell (bass), Robert Caflisch (drums), Will Johnston (guitarist), Kieran Doolan (guitar). Doolan left the band in May 1992 and was replaced on guitar by Eugene Biankin.
In 1992 The Glory Box featured on a CD called Dress Ups (Shock Records) with other Melbourne bands The Fauves and Pray TV, with each band performing a track from the others repertoire, as well as contributing one original track.
An EP called 'Strip-O-Rama' was released on Shock Records in May 1993. The title track was an original, with an additional 4 tracks of Bee Gees covers.
The Glory Box sound was one of jangly guitar pop and rock. Their sound was often compared to English band The Wedding Present from the same period. Song structure was varied from straightforward 3-chord power pop, to a more complicated and melancholy style, highlighted on the track "Intersect" from the 'Donkey' EP. Lyrics focussed on themes such as relationships, envy and self-assessment.
Other tracks never released but often played live by The Glory Box included the energetic "Crash & Burn" and "Swan". The band regularly played the track "Mr Pharmacist" by 1960's San Francisco band The Other Half. On the Fudgeland LP the track 'The Other's Way' (sung by Doolan) was a cover, originally by the 1980s New Zealand band The DoubleHappys.
The Glory Box were one of the first Melbourne bands to have a T-shirt launch gig, a concept that proved popular in the early 1990s in Melbourne. The T-shirt launch was held at The Tote Hotel on 1 December 1990, with support bands Underground Lovers and the Melbourne indie-pop band Glass.
The band broke up with a farewell show at The Lounge in Melbourne on 31 July 1993.
Post Break up
The band have reunited sporadically for gigs since their initial break up, featuring the original line up with Doolan on guitar. In November 2006 they played a gig (with Autohaze and Mark Murphy from Ripe) at The Tote Hotel as part of the 'Long Player' series, which featured 1990's bands playing one of their albums from start to finish, similar to the 'Don't Look Back' concept. They played all of 'Fudgeland' and some of the singles and tracks off the 'Donkey' EP.
On 28 November 2010 they played at a Punters Club reunion gig at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, with other notable early 1990s Melbourne bands such as , The Hollowmen and The Fauves.
They played as part of the Leaps and Bounds Festival at The Tote Hotel with Underground Lovers and Autohaze on 19 July 2015. As part of promotion for the Leaps and Bounds Festival gig, there was suggestion of a new album from the band, 24 years after their debut album was released.
The band played at The Tote Hotel in Collingwood, Melbourne on 16 February 2020, as part of the Popboomerang Volume 3 launch gig.
Discography
Singles
*Raining Embers / My Friend (March 1989) - 7" vinyl, Mouth & Vinnie Records
*Regrets / One Picture (December 1989) - 7" vinyl, Mouth & Vinnie Records
*Raining Embers / Regrets (February 1991) - 7" vinyl, Tea Time Records (TEA 10)
*Precipice / Day After Day (April 1991) - 7" vinyl, Shock Records
*House on the Hill (1991) - 4 track 7" vinyl, Shock Records
EP's
*' (September 1990), 5 track 12" vinyl only, Polyester Records
*Dress Ups (1992) with The Fauves and Pray TV, Shock Records
*Strip-O-Rama (May 1993), 5 track CD, Shock Records
LP's
*Fudgeland (1991) - Shock Records
Compilations
*This Is The Glory Box (1991), Shock Records

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