7 Years Bad Luck,
GlasseaterFearless Records signings Glasseater claim to have had '7 Years Bad Luck' with their first release for the label, but after listening to it, you wouldn't have guessed.
Mixing punk, emo and hardcore seems to be the order of the day at the moment, and this cd does all of this well. Not in a spectacular way, more a kind of steady fashion. Let's put it this way, there's nothing here which will make you wet your pants with excitement...
'A New Day' kicks things off with a hardcore scream which doesn't exactly shred your ears, before easing off into your standard, better-than-average punk rock fare. It is by no means bad, just a bit average really. The riffs are pretty generic, and the melodic singing/screaming trade-offs just bounce off each other without much effect. So the huge opening riff of 'Betting On A Loser' come as welcome relief on the realisation that this record isn't going to be a total dud. Coming across more emo, the screams are still there, but thankfully work better than they did in the previous track.
'Pale Blue Face' starts off more pop-punk in style than its predecessors and is instantly more likeable. But it begs the question, will the real Glasseater please stand up? The hardcore elements quickly come back to the fore, but they don't fuse as well as bands like Glassjaw or Finch. Instead it just seems as though Glasseater are simply screaming up their lungs just for the hell of it. The title track follows up next and is superb, showing that when the band concentrate on melody they can actually be very, very good.
'The Song I Write About You' is pretty good lyrically, as most of the songs are, and is also half decent. It's not brilliant, but it's better than a kick in the teeth. Incidently, I was air-drumming through this without even noticing... 'Words To Make Up' continues the emo theme, with just that minor tinge of hardcore, and this is what Glasseater do best. There's even a piano in there at the end...
'Second Door To The Right' is ok and 'Magic Song' is cool, with a great poppy opening riff followed sharply by some melodic vocals from JC and inter-twined screams from Jason. It is more accessible and obvious than some of the other tracks, but it is rather good. '5 In The Van' begins with the obligatory scream and mellows out but never really gets going, but it is the finale of Skid Row's 'I Remember You' that is the album highlight. The song is a classic anyway, and Glasseater put their own slant on the track, making it absolutely superb. The chorus is screamed so violently that it really works, and for once the screams actually suit the song. The hardcore drumming works really well too. A big thumbs at the end methinks.
Glasseater try and mix a lot of different variants of music into their sound, and at times they pull it off to create some cool songs. But all to often they just appear to have been thrown in without too much consideration. They are a band that are definitely worth checking out, because you do sense that they have the pieces to complete the puzzle, it is just getting them in the right order that's the problem.
Paul Savage
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