The Dorf’s GLAM is less an album and more a seismic event - a live-captured monolith of sound forged in the post-industrial crucible of Germany’s Ruhrgebiet. Led by composer Jan Klare’s tenacious vision (he’s credited with “Air Movement”, which should clue you in to the album’s breathless expansiveness), this XXL Orchestra channels the region’s heavy-metal heritage into something unexpectedly buoyant and kaleidoscopic.

From the first seconds of “Odds”, the listener is swept into a rumbling cascade of brass, reeds, guitars, and electronics. There’s a rough-hewn energy in Marie Daniels and Oona Kastner’s vocals - sometimes playful, sometimes urgent - hovering above a bedrock of sousaphone and bass clarinet. The funk-leaning pulse laid down by drums and double-bass feels simultaneously retro and defiantly futuristic, as if James Brown had discovered Eurorack modulars.

On the near-twelve-minute “Glimlach”, the orchestra explores unexpected nooks: metallic guitar clangs chime against shivering synth washes, trombones erupt into growling fanfares, and Shannon Barnett’s trombone solos slice through the mix with unexpected delicacy. It’s this tightrope walk between exuberant chaos and disciplined arrangement that makes The Dorf so thrilling - you’re never quite sure whether you’re witnessing a riot or a ceremony.

“Nomen”, the side-closing opus, embraces a more meditative groove. Here, clarinet and violin dialogue in smoky, late-night tones while electronics swirl like phosphorescent fumes. Andrea Serafino and Marvin Blamberg propel the piece forward with a skeletal, almost ritualistic lilt, inviting the listener to both move and reflect.

Denis Cosmar’s live-to-tape recording is nothing short of miraculous: every creak of a chair, rustle of sheet music, or murmur of conspiracy among instruments has been preserved, lending GLAM a palpable sense of presence. Yet the mix never feels cluttered - each voice, from Gilda Razani’s theremin to Ach Kuhzunft’s glitchy interjections, finds its own crystalline space.

In championing the raw power of collective improvisation, The Dorf remind us that an orchestra can be as wild as a storm and as delicate as a spider’s web. GLAM doesn’t just capture the spirit of the Ruhrgebiet - it harnesses its raw materials, smelts them in the furnace of live performance, and casts them as something entirely new. Store this record in your bunker for those days when you need sonic resilience, or simply press play and let the XXL Orchestra carry you away.