Glass Bridges is an alternative rock band from the South of England, blending atmospheric melodies with post-grunge energy and emotional depth. Fronted by Simona Cutifani, the band has amassed over 4.5 million streams, attracted more than 80,000 monthly Spotify listeners, and received support from BBC Radio 1, BBC Surrey, and Planet Rock. They have toured extensively across the UK, shared stages with leading names on the alternative scene, and earned slots at major festivals including 2000 Trees, RADAR Festival, and Mangata Festival. With a growing reputation for powerful live performances and emotionally resonant songwriting, Glass Bridges are quickly establishing themselves as one of the UK’s most exciting emerging rock acts. The band has just released its new single ‘Pray’, ahead of their appearance at the 2000 Trees Festival this weekend. We caught up with band members Sam Canfield and Simona Cantifani to discuss all things music.
Thanks for agreeing to speak with Occhi Magazine. It’s much appreciated! Glass Bridges as a name carries a whole philosophy—fragility, reflection, rebuilding. When you first formed, what did you want the band to stand for, and how did “Glass Bridges” become the clearest way to express that identity sonically, visually, and emotionally?
When we first came together as a band, it wasn’t necessarily with the knowledge of what our identity would be. We were four musicians who just really wanted to build a life from music. Josh (Bass Player) suggested ‘Glass Bridges’ for no other reason than he liked the way it sounded, and we sort of just took it and ran with it. Our identity has been forged through all that we have created together and the time we’ve spent together weaving our passion and determination into our music.
Everything we’ve created has been an exploration and expansion of ourselves, both together and individually- and the name ‘Glass Bridges’ feels like it has evolved with us. Simona (vocals) gets very excited about symbolism, and in one of the first iterations of our bio, she wrote about the band name reflecting the ‘fragility of early relationships’. It was an interpretation that deeply reflected where we were and who we were as a band at the time, at the inception, but as we have grown into ourselves and all that we stand for, ‘Glass Bridges’ has evolved to reflect a deep desire for connection and the navigation of all which that entails.
We’ve learnt how to love each other through this journey, how to respect each other, how to listen to each other, how to endlessly support each other in the pursuit of our dreams, even when it feels sticky and tough and exhausting. Themes of reflection and rebuilding are definitely still present, but the ‘fragility’ has taken shape as ‘strength’ instead. Our upcoming EP ‘In Reverence to All That We Are’ is set as honouring to this process, and to all that ‘Glass Bridges’, in name and in song, has come to mean.
You blend hard rock/post-grunge weight with atmosphere and emotionality. If someone heard 10 seconds of a new track, what signature do you want them to recognise instantly as “that’s Glass Bridges”—is it a specific guitar tone, vocal approach, lyrical lens, rhythmic feel, or a particular kind of tension you’re always chasing?
Sam: There are two sides to us musically, our heavy side and our emotional/atmospheric side. When we start a track off, we like to show that straight away. We’ll either make you feel or make you mosh, and that is the Glass Bridges sound to me.
Simona: I think as a band we all have different ways of relating to the music! I tend to be drawn more to the lyrics of songs, and so always feel a strong emphasis there. I may have ideas instrumentally, but the bulk of that is done by the boys, and we bring our respective energies and vibes together to create something new, in collaboration. I think whether the song starts with atmospheric vocals or a punchy riff, there’s an undeniable essence behind all that we do because our music genuinely showcases who we are as individuals, all meshed together. There’s a general vibe!
You’ve described the band’s message as self-actualisation—choosing authenticity in a world that discourages it. What’s the most uncomfortable truth you’ve had to face about yourself to write honestly from that place?
Simona: I think most of what we write has led me through a process of confronting my own sense of inadequacy. Really ripped the insecurities and fears to the surface and had me analyse and process them one by one. I think the very process of writing these songs has been to transmute a lot of the stickier, more gritty aspects and emotions of this existence, at least within myself. Which means sitting with all the ways I don’t think I’m good enough, and figuring out how to forge a path to freedom from outdated stories and channel that process into the writing. I think something we’ve alluded to in our music so far is that we can only create a world born from love if we are willing to challenge the parts of ourselves that do not believe it is possible. I think insecurity is a shared part of the human experience, and through writing and sharing our experiences of that through our music, there’s a hope that we might support others in finding a way to believe in themselves too.
A recurring theme is the fragility of early relationships and rebuilding what’s been broken. Do you write from the perspective of the person who breaks the bridge, the person who crosses it anyway, or the person who rebuilds it—and does that perspective change song to song?
Simona: I think it’s a mixture of all three, definitely! There are some moments in life where walking away is an act of choosing better for yourself, and our debut single ‘Revive’ was written with that experience in mind. Or there are spaces in the world that celebrate harmful beliefs and ideologies, and sometimes it’s really important to burn those bridges because anyone who cannot respect the magic that you offer, does not deserve to have access to it. ‘Mirror’ was written about my experience on a manosphere podcast and how vile it was to witness people who didn’t have basic respect for human beings. If your way of existing is inherently harmful to the people I love, then I will waste no time in burning that bridge and walking away.
In other songs, like ‘Breathe’ and ‘Intention’, I feel the idea of crossing the bridge anyway really resonates. These songs are both very much about confrontation with fear, and how sometimes that experience can be so overwhelming that it really strips me to the core of my being. Sometimes, when I have been in the depths of darker emotions, I find the only decision I can make is whether or not to keep going. I like the interpretation of choosing to cross the bridge anyway, even within the face of fear. And I think that maybe all of our songs are some sort of bridge that we have crossed, some sort of experience that has inspired us. Moments where we have felt the fear, the discomfort, the frustration, and chosen to cross the bridge anyway.
And finally, in the sense of being the one to rebuild it, my mind is really drawn to the 4th and final track of this new EP. When writing the lyrics for it, I really had the sense as though I was writing a love letter to my younger self, to offer her love and guidance and support, and really just a hand to hold. I don’t think I’ve always been able to show up for myself in the ways that I needed and deserved, and the last few years have really seen me rebuild that relationship with the parts of me I feel like I’d disowned or demonised.
This process has helped me learn how to rebuild those relationships with others too in a delightfully infinite cascade of love. I think it’s important to embody all the roles at some point in life. It’s just about learning to discern what’s needed and when to apply it.
Your music explores healing through self-reflection and love. Where do you draw the line between writing something cathartic for you versus something useful for the listener—especially if the listener is still in the middle of the damage?
Simona: In all honesty, I don’t really ever consider writing lyrics from a space of what is cathartic to other people. I write as a form of personal catharsis, as a process of enjoyment, and to express anything and everything that moves through the realms of my experience. I can only speak to what I know, and I don’t really like to make assumptions about other people’s experiences. But I also know that most of the things I experience in life are incredibly human, and that the likelihood of others resonating with me just sharing from the heart, is pretty high. It has been a beautiful part of releasing these songs to know that the emotions and experiences I have sometimes felt so alone in are understood so viscerally and vividly by others in this world. I write for my own process, but I do so knowing that I am not alone in that process. Sometimes I think collective catharsis is inevitable here, at least with those who feel like they connect with the stories we are telling
For each member—Simona, Sam, Cameron, Josh—what influence (artist, record, film, book, life experience) most directly shaped the band’s emotionality, and what influence most shaped the band’s heaviness? Name one of each and explain why
Sam: I’ve always been into rock. I started with classic rock but moved on to the heavier stuff throughout my teenage years. I mainly listen to modern metalcore, which is mainly where I draw inspiration for the heaviness. I love a breakdown that gives you that stank face, and it’s something I always try to replicate in my writing.
Simona: I don’t think I can take much credit for the heaviness, but I can definitely put my hand up for the emotionality. I’ve always been a big feeler, with lots of big feelings, and I think it was an inevitable reality that those feelings would find their way into making music. The boy’s tendency towards heavier songs has given me a playground to explore the intensity of different, maybe grittier emotions and the stories that come with them. My dad played a lot of singer-songwriter type music growing up, and I was always in awe when a song would just grab me by the heart and pull me in. I think it’s definitely fueled a desire to write about the depths of the human experience as honestly and as evocatively as I can- and doing it within the genre we do feels incredibly satisfying to my 16-year-old self.
Female-fronted bands often get boxed in by lazy narratives. How do you protect the band’s identity from being reduced to a label—while still owning the power and perspective that comes with Simona leading the front?
Sam: I never compare our sound to Paramore. That’s the main woe for female-fronted bands. I describe our sound for what it is and not who’s in the band. That being said, I do believe being female-fronted is something to be celebrated so I am always happy to be described as such.
Simona: I absolutely love being part of the surge of female-fronted bands popping up, and will always, always champion women reclaiming their voices and taking up more space. It is epic and wonderful, and incredibly beautiful to witness so many powerful women really shining in all that they are, and to stand alongside them.
I also think that my own identity has been in a state of flux throughout the evolution of the band, and so sometimes being labeled as female-fronted hasn’t necessarily reflected the reality of my experience. As we come out with this EP, I am more obviously leaning into my femininity, but I had to learn to first accept myself as a person before I could accept myself as a woman. Who I am is so much more than just my gender or expression and sometimes I wish that wasn’t as much of a focus as it is. I write from the depths of my soul and my heart, and to me that is more important than the vessel it comes through.
When a new song starts, what usually comes first—riff, vocal melody, lyric concept, or rhythm? And what’s your process for deciding when a song is “done” versus when you’re just afraid to go deeper?
Sam: Usually the instrumental will come first. I often write a song with no vocals in at all and then give it to Simona to work her magic vocally. Sometimes it starts with a riff, and sometimes it starts with just a chord sequence. Each song has a different inspiration and starting point.
Simona: I really love having the freedom and space to make the vocals/lyrics my own and am generally pretty happy with whatever Sam sends over- we can usually agree pretty quickly when something is flowing or not. For me, lyric writing is always tied to some sort of inner experience or process that is wanting to be expressed. I write some lyrics super quickly, others evolve over time, but always in a stream of consciousness, and always emerging when they’re supposed to. I’ve found that the song usually feels complete once the vocals are in, although we might tweak instrumental components throughout the recording process. Writing a song together has very much become its own ritual!
With“Pray”, what are you praying for in this song—change, forgiveness, release, revenge, clarity? And what would it mean for you if listeners misinterpret that prayer completely?
Simona: ‘A better world that feels like home’ is directly from the song and a pretty apt answer. I think sometimes I can be so stuck and fixated on the lens of my personal experience that I forget that the rest of the world exists too. When I think of myself in the context of everyone that walks this life with me, suddenly I find purpose beyond myself. I find a reason to be good, to do good, to live from love as completely as possible because I know it is not just myself I am impacting. It is a prayer and ode to love, and the belief that we deserve nothing less.
You’ve built serious momentum—4.5M+ streams, 80k+ monthly listeners, BBC Radio 1 support, major festivals like 2000 Trees/RADAR/Mangata, and a reputation for powerful live shows. What’s the next bridge you’re trying to build artistically (not just career-wise), and what projects are you working on right now that prove you’re evolving rather than repeating what’s already working?
Sam: The sky’s the limit for us. We constantly have growth on our minds and are always thinking that’s the next step we can take to level up. As heard in our music, we never repeat songs. Each single or EP has a slightly different sound that we’re always trying to evolve.
Simona: I think my favorite thing to witness as we’ve expanded and grown is how that’s taken shape in our music. Every time we write and release a song that we’re really proud of, it always feels like there’s this immediate desire (and sometimes pressure) to write something even better, even more pungent for our senses. Sometimes there’s disbelief that we can do it, and then we do it, and I feel a reignition of awe for all that we’re creating. I’m excited to do a lengthier project and really challenge ourselves to develop this world we’re creating even further. And to share that more widely! We hope for more tours and more shows and more festivals, and tightening up our live set with where we feel this new EP is at. It’s exciting to have fresh music out, and we’re gonna be enjoying the movements of that for a little while.
For further information on the band, please visit the following links.
Don’t forget to check out the lineup for the 2000 Trees festival too!
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