When Glassjaw burst onto the scene with 2000’s immense ‘Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence’, the band bust wide open a new genre of music, fusing the likes of emo and hardcore with their own New York style to create a monster of a record. Infact that album is rated so highly amongst the scene that it is indeed worshipped by many. Two years on the band have signed to Warner Bros after a messy departure from Roadrunner. A myriad of other bands have come along in an attempt to take their crown of Kings of emo (used in the broadest sense, obviously), but in true Daryl Palumbo style this mob have come along and not only reclaimed their throne, but given everyone standing in their way a good kicking too.
‘Worship and Tribute’ is certainly not as schizophrenic as its predecessor, nor is it as angry. Instead Glassjaw have moulded a more melodic sound into their visceral aural battering, creating, in my opinion, a far more accessible album – as you’d probably expect from their major label debut. And I’m sure the ‘sell out’ accusations will start here. My answer to that? Grow up. Listen to this record and you’ll not only see a band who have matured, both as individuals and as musicians, but a band who have created an amazing piece of work. When it comes to end of year polls, this will be up amongst the best.
‘Tip Your Bartender’ opens with all kind of squally guitar effects over a hugely distorted Daryl vocal, before one of the hookiest choruses you’ll hear this year… and it came from Glassjaw. And what is more, there are plenty more where that came from. Take the delicious ‘Mu Empire’ which sounds like Finch (and anyone who knows me knows that is a big compliment) before the awesome ‘Cosmopolitan Bloodloss’, which happens to be as radio-friendly as you’ll ever hear from Glassjaw, is another brilliant track. ‘Ape Dos Mil’ is haunting and as far a departure as anything from their previous record and Daryl sings with passion and meaning; gone are the distorted and bloodcurdling screams, replaced with some quality musicianship. But fear not as ‘Pink Roses’ shows a return to form, all flayling drums and piercing guitars. And although the anger seems to have been turned down a notch, it’s still pretty pissed off. The pace slows again for the gorgeous ‘Must’ve Run All Day’, which is as far removed from the blast of ‘Stuck Pig’ as humanly possible. Infact the track is maybe the only one that would easily fit onto ‘Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence’ and not seem out of place.
‘Radio Cambodia’ maintains the melodic feel that intertwines itself throughout the length of the record, whilst the spectacularly named ‘The Gillette Cavalcade Of Sports’ once again slows things down. But the traditional Daryl vocal, that just-escaped-from-a-mental-institution sound remains, even when the guitars pick up later on in the song. And the melody? It’s still here in abundance. ‘The Trailer Park Jesus’ maintains the structure of verse/chorus/verse that litters most of the songs, and again showcases Dary’s tremendous vocal ability, as well as proving that the band have not just written great songs, but created an album that fits a number of pieces together to complete a complex puzzle.
You can sense the brooding ‘Two Tabs Of Mescaline’ is set to explode, and explode it eventually does, creating havoc with your speaker system. Although it’s certainly not as maniacal as the likes of ‘Siberian Kiss’, it certainly shows that the band can still throw a mental whenever they see fit. That leaves slowie ‘Convectuoso’ to end matters, weighing in at almost 6 minutes it’s similar to ‘Ender’ by Finch in style, perhaps flicking the ‘V’ sign at anyone who naturally assumed that the record would end with a bang. Instead it’s perhaps the most philosophical and ‘softest’ track here. “We are ok,” Daryl sings, and you sense that not only is he right, but Glassjaw are slightly better than ok. They’re bloody vital.
‘Worship and Tribute’ is sure to get some criticism from Glassjaw‘s more hardcore fans because of the extra melody, and at times the pace (or distinct lack of) that fills this record, but the truth be known this is a phenomenal album. So, Glassjaw have moved on – they could have played safe but they’ve taken a risk and in my opinion it has worked. Sure it is certainly more accessible and the songs are more structured, but this is as good a record as you will hear all year.
Paul.