Glass Mansions

Glass Mansions, the Columbia electronic rock duo of Jayna Doyle and Blake Arambula, have released two singles in the last year that pointed towards something truly great.

“Nightswimming,” released early in 2017, was about as perfect a pop song as one could imagine, with Doyle’s cool restraint on the verses leading to a Technicolor blast of a chorus that begs to take up permanent residence in the listener’s brain. That was followed by the sexy swagger of “Just Friends” late last year, a grinding rocker that mixed a wall of Arambula’s guitars and synths with Doyle’s most confident vocal performance ever. It seemed like, after years of promising singles, false starts and lineup changes that Glass Mansions had hit their stride.

That’s where the new EP, Ritual, finds them, and “Just Friends” and “Nightswimming” are certainly highlights of this five-song collection. But what’s incredible is how well the other three songs hold up next to the singles.

Beginning with a subtle heartbeat pulse, “Landmines” explodes into a stutter-step electronic beat and a sheet of metallic guitar that lets Doyle play around with the vocal melody like a jazz singer, before diving into a starburst chorus. She’s long written about her own damaged romantic past and how it’s shaped her, and lines like, “Love me while you can / I’m like a landmine / Stand here like you mean it or we’ll both die” carry on that thread.

“If You Need Me/Don’t” is where the duo’s musical reach really expands, as they cut and paste shards of Doyle’s voice over a minimal electronic pulse until it becomes like another instrument. The song is lighter than “Landmines,” but on the closing “Tunnel Vision,” the sound gets considerably darker, with Doyle’s voice coated in serrated distortion over a cavernous beat and an atom bomb-sized chorus.


Taken as a whole, Ritual is a spectacular collection of edgy electronic music that finds Glass Mansions hitting a new peak. - Free Times

Synth-rock/alt-pop duo Glass Mansions are thrilled to share their sophomore EP, “Ritual”. This 5-track collection builds on the template laid down in their 2016 debut “Gossip” by combining exquisite electro pop tones, gritty alt-rock elements and a thoughtful lyricism. “Ritual” follows the recent release of the band’s powerful singles, Nightswimming, Landmines and Just Friends.

Glass Mansions, led by the charismatic, sultry voice of Jayna Doyle, is an Altpop duo from South Carolina, influenced by modern and 90s pop, heavy synths and tight, dance-friendly rhythms. Their music is propulsive and elastic, with bubbly pop-melodies, lush electronic beds of sound and intelligent, intimate lyrics, creating a memorable sound that vibes like Shirley Manson going steady with The Neighbourhood. The duo of vocalist Jayna Doyle and multi-instrumentalist Blake Arambula have been steadily winning over audiences across the country since day one. With 10+ tours under their belt, multiple appearances at festivals like SXSW, Warped Tour and Florida Music Festival, as well as a Daytrotter session, the band is gearing up for a 2018 EP release by following new single, “JUST FRIENDS.” Helmed once again by Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Mayday Parade, All Time Low, Cartel) the production team have combined the band’s signature pop flourishes with bombastic drum and synth elements — all while harnessing the energy the band’s live shows have come to be known for. - Vents Magazine

Best Album (SC): Ritual, Glass Mansions
Put simply, no one else in the state is making electronic music that rocks like this. No one else is writing brutal, self-lacerating lyrics as well as singer Jayna Doyle, and no one is coming up with songs as simultaneously dark, catchy and powerful as the five songs on Ritual. Listen to the EP’s lead single, “Nightswimming” and tell me it’s not one of the most memorable, haunting pop songs you’ve ever heard; I dare you. - Greenville Journal

The unsigned, South Carolina-based electro-pop duo, Glass Mansions are set to release their follow-up to 2016’s Gossip EP., the five-song Ritual EP, on April 6th and it’s damn good. The group’s members -- vocalist Jayna Doyle and multi-instrumentalist Blake Arambula -- worked with producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Mayday Parade, All Time Low, Cartel) and returned from the studio stacked with new, crowd-ready tunes.

Taking their penchant for pop flourishes paired with driving drums and sexy synths, with the new EP Glass Mansions have layered in a ton of hooks, sing-along choruses, and even captured their live energy. The end result: a short but sweet electro-pop recording that’ll be ideal for the upcoming warmer weather. So, without wasting anymore time, head below to hear the entire album and be sure to get your twitchy fingers over to Spotify and/or iTunes for some pre-ordering action.

Commenting on the new album, Jayna left us with these thoughts:

“RITUAL: An act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner, as second nature. This EP has been several years in the making - years of little victories, struggles, doubts and unwavering personal resilience. ‘RITUAL’ is about owning who you are, facing demons, nostalgia, toxicity and the liberation that comes from letting things go. The process, the chase, the hustle and fighting the good fight for our fellow underdogs has been our ritual since day one. Create, release, repeat.” - Pure Grain Audio

Sometimes we like gentle music. Sometimes we like rock music. And sometimes we need Glass Mansions. Fronted by sensual and sexy vocals of Jayna Doyle and the multi-talented Blake Arambula, the South Carolina-based alt-pop/indie rock duo have released their newest music video for their single, “Just Friends”.

The hard-hitting, intense single is laced with wailing guitar riffs, thunderous percussion and that nostalgic ’90s grunge themes layered with alternative and electro-pop melodies. The poetic, personal lyrics are intimate and are delivered with charisma and flare. Glass Mansions gives off that feeling of doing the wrong thing but for all the right reasons and you know you might regret the decision in the morning. “Just Friends” is that dark pulling desire of wanting more of what you cannot have.

And the official video for “Just Friends” is exactly how you would expect it to be. Set in a dark bar with a whiskey on the rocks in hand, you cannot escape the wanton pull of Doyle’s entrance. Highlighted in pinks and blues, the danger and risk is foreboding (even though the set looks like a row of library books). You know you should resist, but her gravity is undeniable, which mimics the song itself.

Try to deny loving this track all you want, but Glass Mansions has found a brilliant niche that incorporates the best of alt-pop and indie rock and “Just Friends” is the wonderful result. And even better, the duo is out on tour right now! All of the dates are below and pick up tickets: HERE.

March 7 – Knoxville, TN @ Preservation Pub
March 8 – Nashville, TN @ Crying Wolf
March 9 – Cape Girardeau, MO @ Mixing 10
March 10 – St Louis, MO @ FUBAR
March 11 – Tulsa, OK @ The Yeti
March 12 – Norman, OK @ Red Brick Bar
March 14 – 18 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
March 19 – San Angelo, TX @ Penny Tap House
March 20 – El Paso, TX @ Love Buzz
March 21 – Tuscon, AZ @ Skybar
March 22 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
March 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBD
March 24 – San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
March 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ TBA
March 29 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Green Room
March 30 – Albuquerque, NM @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
March 31 – Denver, CO @ Streets of London
April 3 – Wichita, KS @ Kirby’s Beer Store
April 4 – Fayetteville, AK @ Dickson Street Pub
April 5 – Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone
April 6 – Mobile, AL @ Merry Widow
April 7 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade

Check out the music video for “Just Friends” by Glass Mansions on YouTube below and do not forget to pick up the single on iTunes now! - Lemonade Magazine

Kelly Clarkson took sharpened sheers to her metaphorical front lawn with iconic single “Sober,” in which she compares toxic people and things to weeds that need untangled and removed from a bed of vibrant blossoms. “Three months and I’m still sober / Picked all my weeds but kept the flowers,” she sings, positioning the My December deep cut as a glossy, surefire oath of self-preservation. It’s a moment of clarity that comes in all of our lives, scattered points of revelatory knowledge, reaching a breaking point and choosing to severe ties that serve to destroy us rather than hold us up. South Carolina rock duo Glass Mansions ⎯⎯ Jayna Doyle and Blake Arambula ⎯⎯ hit that threshold awhile back, shedding a former shell and casting off toxicity like a tatter bomber jacket from a forlorn lover. “It’s been the most liberating thing we’ve ever done ⎯⎯ both as a band and individual people,” Doyle talks candidly to B-Sides & Badlands about that moment when things were so strained, they cut the beast off at the head.

“When you have toxic people in life, sometimes, most of the time, you’re too close to the situation to really understand how bad it is. Toxic people engulf you in a toxic rut, and that’s where we found ourselves for the past several years,” she continues. “Fear is a powerful and funny thing, but letting yourself let go and moving on is completely invaluable and more empowering than we’d realized.”

Liberation was an expected result, anchoring their new EP, and first as a duo, titled Ritual. From exploding “Landmines” to the raging sizzle of “Just Friends” to the warped elasticity of “Tunnel Vision,” the meager, 5-song record is a shock of magnetic heroism, bending genres with fervent charm. “Flipping the foundation of things with deep, overdue change really alters your view of things. Everything around me is still the same, but I, as well as Blake, feel sort of brand new,” Doyle expresses, noting how such a drastic personal change shifted not only their perceptions but artistic endeavors. “I’ve always been a fan of clean slates and fresh starts and have even made a ‘ritual’ of them in our mini chapters as a band ⎯⎯ but letting go of past toxic bandmates and members of our team that we thought we could trust definitely wakes you up to the notion that the only limitations we have are ones we enable.”


Turning a new leaf directly feeds into their focus, present throughout each of Ritual‘s rapid breaths. With only two members these days, their energy is reinvigorated and narrows in on a tighter sonic template. “Blake and I have always been the sole songwriters. We started making music together and formed a band, but then did our first album together as a two piece with studio players before we started playing out…having gone through so many band members in the mean time — and some really great, talented musicians we are still very close with ⎯⎯ it makes so much sense for us to have gone full circle back to being a two piece,” Doyle explains. “We realized how much a drummer’s style could affect our sound, and when we started writing with electronic drums in mind, we had the epiphany that the typical idea of a band being singer-guitar-bass-drums is not set in stone anywhere. It’s 2018, and any type of set up is truly possible these days. That realization in and of itself has been hugely exciting for us in the creative process.”

The breakup not only re-upped their creative capacity but was a rather stunningly cathartic march into a new stage of adulthood, one with no-fucks given and a healthier reliance on trust and companionship. That notion splatters onto their songwriting, too. “On our newest EP, it was the first time that we started writing solely as a two piece without any other player in mind…meaning, sometimes, we’ve written songs that were truly done and didn’t need more but we had bandmates that couldn’t just stand there so some parts have been thrown in as afterthoughts on previous recordings. Being able to cut that fat and keep the songs truer to their intended form has been both equally fulfilling and scary, in that we are way more vulnerable as songwriters now.”

Below, Doyle discusses essential new tracks, their scruffy electro-rock approach, rituals and animalistic textures.

How have your live shows changed out of the shift from a group to a duo?

Well now that we threw the typical band setup out the window, we wanted to incorporate new elements into our live show. Insert electronic drumpad here. It’s been really fun for me to play these little drum solos and get to rock out in our harder breakdowns by expressing myself through something other than my voice or dancing around. With less people on stage now, I do find it much easier to step into my role as a front-person, which is not something I had anticipated. I’ve always been charismatic and sassy and filled that role, but I didn’t realize how much I’d been holding back by making room to share the spotlight with others, until I had the literal room onstage to embrace my role more wholeheartedly.

“If You Need Me, Don’t” has such a ravenous energy to it. Can you talk about how that song came together? What’s the story?

We love this song so much, and it was probably our most favorite one to record and execute. I wrote it with the intention that the listener would feel empowered by the lyrics and that it would create a I-can-tackle-anything / take-no-shit-do-no-harm personal revelation. The creation of this song was a turning point for us as a band. We’d demo-ed a very simple, instrumental version, and it got shelved for a few months in 2017, because none of our band mates believed in it. Blake and I knew a change was coming then and there, because we strongly believed in the potential of the song, and it made so much sense when we revisited it newly as a two piece, to let it tell the story of moving on from the toxicity that was holding both us and the song back. It’s essentially about standing firmly in your own and not letting someone else try to steer you away from your vision, potential or essentially, yourself.

This electronic-rock-pop hybrid of yours is unlike most of what is polluting mainstream music. Do you think that musical risk could alienate fans of those single genres?

Maybe? It’s been both a blessing and a curse for us to walk this line that enables us to dip our toes in multiple genres and because of that, be welcomed by fans of all those genres. We aren’t chasing a specific sound to begin with, and ultimately, writing just feels natural to us given our own influences. But it is exciting to see artists like Bishop Briggs and Phantogram be more and more welcomed on the mainstream front, and I do think that that will continue to keep the door open for genre-blurring bands like ours.

What has been the biggest misconception about you and your music?

People that have listened to our recordings before seeing our live show are always coming up to us very surprised that we are more energetic than they’d expected and that our music tends to hit harder and heavier live. I’m always equally surprised, because it seems that polished recordings sometimes convince listeners that the performance is going to be very dry and structured and clean cut ⎯⎯ when our live show is anything but that. I’m so enamored by the soul and rawness of rock ‘n roll, and you can’t help but channel that element in a live setting which is something I don’t think you can truly capture in a recording.


The vocal distortion and slink of “Tunnel Vision” is so addicting. What is your typical process in making production decisions in what best serves the song?

“Tunnel Vision,” in particular, revolved heavily around textures. The synths and intro percussion are all very sleek and smooth ⎯⎯ so we wanted the vocals to be more exposed, raw and gritty in texture. This song has probably the darkest subject matter of the EP. I wanted the vocals to be distorted and robotic to really paint the sound of being stuck somewhere different than the other musical elements. The vocal layering tucked in the background of the verses and then again in the bridge was purposely sung more airy and smooth to serve as a “ghost” and a more haunting sound that never fully connects with the main vocal.

Do you have any rituals in your life and music?

Self care is so important to our well being and mental health. More recently, I’ve been practicing a ritual of writing down both things I need to let go and things I want to manifest and then burning the pieces of paper. Seeing on paper something you want to move on from literally disappear into ash really does wonders for mental closure. I actually have lots of little rituals that I practice daily, but I have to keep them to myself because I’m also very superstitious.

There is such a grittiness to the EP. It’s raw, almost animalistic in nature. Was that always the intention?

Yes and no. When we started writing the first few songs for the EP, we weren’t really sure what direction it would take. We knew that we were moving into a more electronic direction, and I’ve always been more attracted to distorted, bass-heavy synths than synths on the sleek ’80s-esque end of the spectrum. Recording-wise, we tried to capture the more raw, soulful aspect of our music that comes out more in our live show. Looking back now, I guess “Landmines” and “Just Friends,” and well, maybe the whole EP, do have an animalistic feel to them…which could be contributed to me embracing a more sensual energy I always watered down in the past.


The EP has been out for a minute. How does it make you feel now?

At first, it was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been for anything we’ve released, because this EP is so much closer to me, personally, than anything we’ve done in the past. I feel way more vulnerable, but now that it’s out, I do feel more confident in my own voice as an artist. It’s a mix of emotions ⎯⎯ I feel relieved and excited and defensive and proud, all at the same time with a clearer vision of where I’d like to go as an artist.

What would you say you learned about yourself and each other in this process?

I learned that trust is the most important thing. If you can’t trust your bandmate or your team, then you’re already doomed from the start. I learned to trust myself and my creative instincts more than I ever have in my entire life or career. I learned that it’s okay to try and to fail trying and to keep going, because at the end of the day, I’m still giving 100 percent of myself in an honest effort to create something that I think can make a difference, even if it’s just a small one.

Which song makes you feel the most alive when you perform it?

“72” is still an old school favorite of mine that will probably always be my favorite song to perform live ⎯⎯ for reasons I’ll probably never even understand why. Off the new EP, I would have to say that “Tunnel Vision” has really been a dark horse for us in our shows. We extend the bridge live, and there’s just something really magical about that song that people are connecting with that is really beautiful for us to be able to play a part in.

Where do you envision your sound going next?

It’s really hard to say. We had so much fun writing this new EP, and I think we’ve challenged ourselves as songwriters. We are already working on new music, and I can tell you that we’ve been exploring more vocal sampling and different ways to achieve percussion. We’ll always be in the electro-pop-rock world, but it is invigorating to be writing again in this new setup. - B-sides and Badlands

A lot of changes have transpired for Glass Mansions since we last reviewed them here – no longer called Death of Paris, and now stripped down to the duo of Jayna Doyle (vocals) and Blake Arambula (electronics/ guitars), the Columbia synth pop act has released their second EP, Ritual. While still working a style of music that would resonate with many listeners, the band is delving in territory that not many explore around Columbia or even South Carolina in general. Citing the unique workflow and dynamic they developed in Atlanta with producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, the band returned to them to help make this EP as well. It seems like indie-tronica bands are a dime a dozen, but striving for a pure pop sound is still under-rated by the cognescenti of the Palmetto State… as Arambula says, “We might not be included on any SC samplers, but we are still a part of South Carolina music”, which is a shame, because Glass Mansions have both the chops and the road warrior ethic to be huge one day. How many DIY Pop bands can you name?

The robotic heartbeat at the beginning of opener “Landmines” still finds humanity at its core. ’80s-style electronics coupled with distorted power chords from Arambula build until Jayna Doyle comes in with a fierce yet seductive Lady Gaga-ish attitude. The breakdown keeps a steady buildup so her sultry, R&B-infused lyrics never lose their flow. The song is always driving with its attack, but never loses focus on danceability, programmed effects creating little rivers of percussion that flow through canyons of pop. “Just Friends” and its heavy techno intro gives the processed vocals a chance to work around the funky pop that the chorus is about to preach. The little guitar fills and that straight-outta-1987 solo (man, that could be Def Leppard, Hysteria-era!) are more “rock” than most “electro” bands nowadays have the balls to churn out. Doyle is content to just wail out her discontent; she riffs over the melee with her soulful voice part referee, part stage manager. And then comes “Nightswimming“, one of the previous singles and the pop gem in the band’s big bag of jewelry. Jayna could be speaking of either a relationship or the difficulties of being a DIY band from South Carolina trying to mine a genre that seems to be shunned locally (“But I’m sinking/ wading between little victories”). Maybe the most radio-rad thing they have done and this from a band that is unabashedly pop to their very center. “If You Need Me, Don’t” is strong modern pop with an ’80s sensibility, always driving, always aware that keeping the listener moving is the goal of goals. When Doyle warns her subject, “Run from me/ I’m a wolf cutting teeth/ gold electricity”, all should take notice. Last song “Tunnel Vision” has that kind of resolute electro intro that would make LCD Soundsystem proud; the beat is rock solid and Jayna rides it til it morphs into an anthemic fight song. The glitched-out mid-section then cascades into a crescendo that fades out , leaving all of us to ponder whether she really won or not.

As a duo, the band is pared down to its most specific and important strengths- Jayna Doyle’s powerful voice and introspective lyrics coupled with Blake Arambula’s stick-to-your-ribs musical hooks. As Blake states about the downsizing, “It hit us that the notion of having to be a traditional 4-piece band was outdated. There’s been this paradigm shift happening in music where it doesn’t matter if you have live drums on stage, or a bass guitar, but that you are there performing, connecting and engaging with the audience and winning over strangers. You’re given 30 minutes to impress and resonate with everyone else in the room – the way you deliver it to them doesn’t matter anymore.” Lyrically, Doyle is laying it all out there with songs about bad relationships and the will to overcome. Musically, the band is built on the past- but its relevant, not reductive. South Carolina needs a band like Glass Mansions to help punch us all into the future.
Recommended if you like: Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox, Ke$ha - South Carolina Music Guide

Journeying all the way from South Carolina, Glass Mansions is here to introduce their Alt-pop sound and debut tracks from their 2018 EP “Ritual”.

Glass Mansions is led by the sultry voice of Jayna Doyle, coupled with the complimentary back up sounds of multi-instrumentalist Blake Arambula. They are influenced by modern and 90s pop, heavy synths and tight, dance-friendly rhythms.



Their music is propulsive and elastic, with bubbly pop-melodies, lush electronic beds of sound and intelligent, intimate lyrics, creating a memorable sound. The band has 10+ tours under their belt, multiple appearances at festivals like SXSW, Warped Tour and Florida Music Festival, as well as a Daytrotter session. Their 2018 release of ‘Just Friends’ has been a hit for the band. Jayna and Blake have always been the core writers of the group despite whatever iteration of Glass Mansions they were currently indulging, before we came to enjoy this glorious final product. Viewers can hear the satisfaction in their sound which comes together perfectly in performances.



For their latest EP “Ritual” they detail that “no fucks are given,” in the way they just let loose and really become one with the music. This album feels dear to the band’s heart because they are back to the two of them and finally have a chance to play with their paired ambiance. They intend for listeners to get every bit of their essence as they venture to uncharted territory. - Press Pass LA