Mute The TV Find Light in the Darkness with Glitter On A Grey Day
With a sound built around jangly hooks, fuzzed-out guitars and a whole lot of DIY spirit, Wicklow's Mute The TV have a knack for mixing throwback indie-pop with the heavier, rough-around-the-edges sounds of garage rock. Throw in some raw, honest lyrics and a reputation for head-banging live shows, and you've got a band well worth keeping an eye on.
Since breaking through with Highfalutin
back in 2014, Mute The TV have been steadily building their catalogue with a string of singles. 2026 has been a particularly busy year, with Fragile
and 27 Years Young picking up plenty of attention and, more importantly, some well-deserved radio airplay along the way.
The band have also been putting in the hours in the studio, working towards their debut EP, which is expected to land in early 2027. Before that, though, there's another taste of their guitar-heavy nostalgia in the shape of Glitter On A Grey Day
, a track with a touching story behind it.
A Slow Start That Builds Into Something Bigger
Glitter On A Grey Day
opens on a fairly stripped-back note, with gently plucked strings and vocals taking centre stage. There's nothing particularly rushed about the opening verse, with a beat gradually finding its way into the mix before the rest of the instruments begin to make their presence felt.
It's a clever way to kick things off, giving the song a bit of breathing room before the guitars come crashing in. By the time the chorus arrives, Mute The TV are back doing what they do best, turning a relatively simple melody into something much bigger, louder and made for singing along to.
The chorus has a proper anthemic feel, with layers of crashing, fuzz-covered guitars building into a wall of sound. There's also a single-note guitar line that weaves in and out of the chorus, adding a catchy little hook without getting lost beneath all that distortion. It's the sort of guitar-driven indie rock that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a mixtape twenty years ago.
A Personal Story Behind Glitter On A Grey Day
While the guitars might grab your attention first, there's a much more personal story at the heart of the track. The inspiration came after the band read a moving tribute written by an acquaintance who had lost his mother at a young age and was raising money for the Irish Cancer Society.
In that tribute, he described his mother as glitter on a grey day
, a phrase that immediately struck a chord with the band. It was a simple but beautiful way of remembering someone, and one that eventually became the starting point for the song.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the track, the band explained:
I spend a lot of my time in my head and one of my recurring thoughts is how will I cope when I lose a parent. A day I have been dreading since growing up and grasping the idea that the people we love and that are there for us eventually do die.
They went on to explain how reading the story had offered some comfort when thinking about losing loved ones, adding:
Reading my friend's story gave me hope and comfort. We all experience loss in some shape or form at some time or another. Maybe remembering those we lose fondly helps them to live on and us, too.
It's a sentiment that most people will be able to relate to, whether they've experienced that kind of loss themselves or simply worried about the day it might happen. And it gives the song a little more weight when you go back and listen to those big, crashing choruses.
Final Verdict | Mute The TV Glitter On A Grey Day
With Glitter On A Grey Day
, Mute The TV have delivered another strong slice of guitar-driven indie rock, packed with fuzzy riffs, catchy hooks and a chorus that deserves to be played loud. There's plenty of that familiar noughties indie charm, but the personal story behind the song gives it something extra.
It's also a good reminder that a song doesn't need to be quiet or stripped back to tackle a difficult subject. Sometimes a wall of guitars and a big singalong chorus can do the job just as well. With their debut EP on the horizon, Mute The TV are giving us plenty of reasons to look forward to what's next.
The single, Glitter On A Grey Day, is available through all streaming platforms.
Photo Credit: Mute The TV
