In music and in winter, structure matters. What holds steady often carries us through.

As we (very) slowly look forward to the end of the toughest part of winter, there are some unwelcome changes in our neighborhood. We don’t know how much the cold streak contributed, but the Tin Building at the Seaport closed for good. Elke and I loved it as an oasis where you could instantly step into the swanky world of luxury and good taste. We have never met anyone who thought otherwise, but that was unfortunately not enough to save the place. The good news is that the globetrotting Balloon Museum opens an outpost there this summer, so the neighborhood won’t have to live with yet another empty space for too long.

Despite knowing better, I found myself scrolling Instagram on a beach vacation. That’s when a post by Montreal musician Wrené Nova, Montreal musician Wrené Nova, stopped me and got me thinking. And thinking is something I love to do at the beach, where your gaze drifts into the distance, and the rhythmic sound of the waves soothes the mind.

The idea of featuring covers sparked in that moment on the beach, and I’ve already written about it in this newsletter. Then, a few weeks later, Wrené reached out to us about her upcoming album The Intangible, out on March 1.

The album explores the future of music from an artist’s perspective, a topic she touched on in an angry article in Range Magazine. She says in her press release: “The Intangible speaks directly to many of the conversations shaping alternative music -the backlash against streaming platforms, the pressure to conform to algorithms, defiance against labels pushing AI, preserving humanity in art, for example.”

However, the album feels more like a push forward than a complaint about the status quo. Lush, elegant synth textures and Wrene’s rich vocals make up an electronic masterpiece that hints at its heritage with a delicious cover as its closing track (see below).

Cover Song of the Week: Wrené - Come To Me (Björk Cover)

COME TO ME, by Wrené

from the album THE INTANGIBLE

WrenéWrené

Covering a Björk song is no small task — her compositions rarely follow predictable paths, and her voice is inseparable from the music itself. Wrené keeps the emotional core of “Come to Me” intact but expands the track with a richer electronic palette. Rather than mirroring Björk’s singular delivery, she leans into her own, giving the song a subtle yet meaningful shift in perspective.

Five Songs: Celebrating the Bass

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube:

Some songs don’t just sound good — they’re constructed. This week’s Five Songs are built on pulse and lift. On bass lines that move instead of circle. On drums that propel rather than explode. On tension that tightens, holds, and then releases with precision.

None of these songs are chaotic. None rely on spectacle. They rise because they’re built to rise. These are songs and moods I keep coming back to.

• The Clash – “London Calling”Urgent and taut, driven by rhythm rather than ornament. The bass pushes forward, the structure never loosens, and the tension stays coiled from start to finish.
• New Order – “Bizarre Love Triangle”The bass carries the melody, the synths propel the motion. Emotional repetition becomes momentum rather than nostalgia.
• Pet Shop Boys – “It’s a Sin”Drama contained within discipline. The intensity feels massive, but it’s carefully structured, sharpened, controlled.
• Prince – “Sign o’ the Times”Minimal and razor-precise. Space becomes part of the architecture. Nothing wasted, nothing excess.
• Warpaint – “Love Is to Die”A hypnotic bass line anchors the song as layers slowly unfold. The lift is deliberate, patient, and quietly commanding.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to all seven songs on YouTube, or follow our daily updated Song Pick playlists on YouTube, Apple Music2, or Spotify3.

• Kid Sistr ​- “American Teenage Prophecy”
• Beatrix - “Class Reunion”
• Emma Lindquist - “Closer To You”
• Bella Kay - “Steady”
• Wings of Desire - “Nothing Left To Give”
• Georgia Reed - “Golden”
• Mute Swan - “Like a Chump”

We publish one Song Pick of the Day every day. You can subscribe to receive them by email.

Before the Blizzard

Winter hasn’t offered many opportunities lately. So on Saturday, with heavy snow in the forecast, we went out.

At the Reservoir in Central Park, clouds drifted across a bright blue sky until suddenly the sun broke through — glorious. We haven’t seen sunshine in ages, it seems. The water was frozen, except for one small opening around a fountain, a quiet reminder that not everything stands still.

From there to the Guggenheim for the Gabriele Münter exhibition (until April, 2026. Not in the Rotunda — that’s being prepared for something else — but still within those curved walls. Among portraits and photographs, landscapes from her time in Murnau. Places I know by heart because I grew up there. Seeing them here, in New York, felt quietly extraordinary.

By Sunday, we stopped at the Seaport, the air already shifting. Then the snow came, and the city slowed to a halt. From our terrace, everything looked newly hushed. It is pretty. I still don’t like it.