Interview: Glass Towers Up & Coming from Down Under
On a brisk spring afternoon within a downtown Toronto hotel room, Benjamin Hannam is talking to Riffyou.com while he “freezes 
his ass off.” This is the 22-year-old frontman for Glass Towers’ first trip to Canada, which coincided with their first US visit.
Born and bred in Australia, Hannam is appreciative of the more sizeable, yet very reasonably-priced meals we North Americans get. He’s also fascinated by the presence of drive thru ATMs. After it’s explained that Canadian weather is likely the primary reason for this amazing invention, Hannam begins to understand.
For Glass Towers – Daniel Muszynski (drums), Chris Bristow (guitar), Bobby O’Black (bass), and Hannam – this is a special time. The group has been winning praise in its down-under homeland for their handful of releases, and has finally unleashed their first recording upon North American soil. Through Dine Alone Records comes Collarbone Jungle, a five-track indie-pop record that doesn’t sound too unlike new label mates Tokyo Police Club. There’s youthful exuberance; hooks upon hooks; clever observations; and a refreshing energy by a band that’s just beginning to find its place.
Although most of the songs were written by Hannam during his high school days, he still reflects upon them fondly.
“All of the songs were written at the same time, when I was 16 or 17,” confirms Hannam. “My whole point of writing these songs was that I wanted to take snapshot of a particular time in my life. Basically the concept of the EP and the album (2013’s Halycon Days) is being young; living the teenage life…it’s really a nostalgic record. It’s a block of time in my life, so the next album will be completely different, because I’m a different person now.
“That was the whole point of doing the record,” he continues, “to capture that moment and essence of youthfulness.”
Those moments in which Hannam grasped tightly to were the parties he – like any other teenagers – attended; the “crazy things” that happened at them; as well as every kind of person he met. Armed with those experiences, Hannam says that he used to race 
home each night just get all of these moments transferred onto paper.
Hannam is an admitted admirer of writer Jack Kerouac, someone who was known for his ability to write spontaneously, and write in that manner amazingly well. By adopting this approach, Hannam would build up so much material, that he even considered writing an autobiography…until he figured it’d probably be too boring for anyone else to read.
“At the end of the day, I’m a nostalgic person,” says Hannam. “I used to have this weird pre-nostalgia, where if a house party happened a week ago, I wouldn’t get melancholy, but would have a deep feeling of longing to be back there on that same night to feel the same feelings.”
Now in the moment, Hannam is like any young musician: he has ambition, and wants to make it. There is zero desire to start out with a big punch, then flame out. Although he’s a big fan of nostalgia, he’s very much looking forward to what’s next.
“I’ve always been very ambitious with my music,” concludes Hannam. “The music written then isn’t as relevant to me now, so it’s exciting to work toward a fresh, new album. But with each release, I’d like to go higher and higher.”
-Adam Grant
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