Glass Pear - Sweet America

Glass Pear, AKA Welsh singer/songwriter Yestyn Griffiths, first came on our radar last year with the release of his nicely crafted debut album Streets of Love. Then came the holiday released single "Until The Morning Come", a lovely duet performed with Griffiths' older sister Jem, the platinum-selling popster who obviously knows her way around a sweetly turned out melody (listen at DC here). "A lot of the songs I write are about the fragility and transiency of life and love," says Griffiths. "So I wanted to find a name that expressed that." And true to that moniker, Glass Pear songs reflect that sensitivity to the "breakable" nature of love, charming -- if not exactly challenging -- works that most often possess a soft, candied center and a light touch.

Newly released eight-song EP Sweet America continues Griffiths' calmly studied folk/pop, smoothing any rough edges or troubling intensity with a soothing lyrical disposition and velvety production. "Morning Light" is an opulent spread of a song, drifting perilously close to gooey treacle but redeemed with clear-eyed emotional sincerity. We like the brushed-snare impetus that drives "No Reason To Love", a track that floats along effortlessly buoyed by Griffiths' soaring falsetto and chiming guitars, as well as the delectable title track that matches its orchestrated lament with some gorgeously hymnal melodic lines (videos after the jump). Sweet America is available directly from the Glass Pear site or pick it up digitally at your favorite digital store.

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Glass Pear - "Sweet America" (from the EP Sweet America)

Glass Pear - "No Reason to Love" (from the EP Sweet America)