Shatterproof
0
Posted
November 5, 2009 in
Music
It’s no secret that Glassjaw’s untitled third album is dancing in perpetual limbo. Fans awaiting a follow-up to the artistic savagery of 2002’s Worship and Tribute (Warner Bros.) know the pains of patience. Luckily, the raw fragments of the unfinished record, captured on bootleg recordings and fuzzy concert footage (thanks, YouTube), suggest that the album is indeed worth the wait. But the question remains: How much longer? At this point it’s still a mystery, even to the band.
With the release date of their new album routinely pushed back since 2007, the Long Island-based band continues to keep their fans waiting and wishing for a comeback as the latter half of the ‘00s grinds to a close. Although the end of 2009 leaves us with few satisfying explanations for the hold up (i.e. waiting on Daryl Palumbo to finish the vocals, frustrating shackles of prior record contracts, hectic schedules, etc.), small pockets of shows like the one coming to The Glass House next week reaffirm the band’s resolve to stay shatterproof in the post-post hardcore era.
“We are very excited to put some new music out,” says guitarist/co-founder Justin Beck whose ravenous distortion and dynamic arrangements comprise the fabric of Glassjaw’s sound. “We’re 30-year-olds playing tunes 20-year-olds wrote and we would love to bring the public up to date on where we are now.”
Besides Palumbo’s stable of side projects (including Head Automatica and House of Blow), Beck became a father in March 2009 while cultivating a band merchandise company. Bassist Manuel Carrero and drummer Durijah Lang keep busy touring with New Jersey band Saves the Day. Though hectic schedules abound, Beck still considers Glassjaw a full-time job. Though it’s a far cry from 1993, when Beck and Palumbo started the group in Long Island that eventually made them monarchs of the mosh pit.
Two albums, two EPs and about four lineup changes later, the band looks at their latest metamorphosis as “a return to rhythm, melody and simplicity,” says Beck. Part of that metamorphosis came in 2004 when their lineup at the time, including Todd Weinstock, bassist Dave Allen and drummer Larry Gorman, was dismissed from the band for various reasons. And as the band changed prior to hitting the studio in 2007, so did the songs they wrote for the album.
“These songs were executed in a studio environment without a full team,” says Beck, who recorded everything independently alongside friend and producer/engineer Justin Florencio without backing from Warner Bros., their previous label. “Listening to old material makes us feel very anxious and just makes us think how some of those songs were intended to bounce and swing and not sprint.”
One could argue that the band still has plenty of “sprint” in tunes like “Natural Born Farmer” and “You Think You’re John (Fucking) Lennon,” balancing brilliant melodic trails with guttural, throat-shredding rage. They’ve shown a proclivity for Latin sounds buried in the polyrhythmic trance of “Jesus Glue.” And with a matured sound in place, it looks like things are slowly piecing together.
Though Glassjaw’s touring habits have been sporadic at best since 2003, three upcoming dates with Rx Bandits in L.A., Pomona and San Francisco as well as a fall East Coast tour with Brand New offer hope that the band is prepping for a full return to action. But even with their satisfying, sweaty rampages on stage, Beck and the band realize that it’s hard for fans to understand their laissez-faire logic on the album release.
“People get accustomed to habits, templates and routine,” says Beck. “So your average person computes: Glassjaw = Band, Band = Write, Record & Tour, Write, Record & Tour. So why would a music consumer think any differently? We are a band blessed with some fans but we are also a band just having fun, not trying to break new records with ticket sales and albums.”
Glassjaw w/Rx Bandits at The Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 865-3802; www.theglasshouse.us. Thurs, Nov. 12. Doors open 8PM. $25.
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It’s no secret that Glassjaw’s untitled third album is dancing in perpetual limbo. Fans awaiting a follow-up to the artistic savagery of 2002’s Worship and Tribute (Warner Bros.) know the pains of patience. Luckily, the raw fragments of the unfinished record, captured on bootleg recordings and fuzzy concert footage (thanks, YouTube), suggest that the album is indeed worth the wait. But the question remains: How much longer? At this point it’s still a mystery, even to the band.
With the release date of their new album routinely pushed back since 2007, the Long Island-based band continues to keep their fans waiting and wishing for a comeback as the latter half of the ‘00s grinds to a close. Although the end of 2009 leaves us with few satisfying explanations for the hold up (i.e. waiting on Daryl Palumbo to finish the vocals, frustrating shackles of prior record contracts, hectic schedules, etc.), small pockets of shows like the one coming to The Glass House next week reaffirm the band’s resolve to stay shatterproof in the post-post hardcore era.
“We are very excited to put some new music out,” says guitarist/co-founder Justin Beck whose ravenous distortion and dynamic arrangements comprise the fabric of Glassjaw’s sound. “We’re 30-year-olds playing tunes 20-year-olds wrote and we would love to bring the public up to date on where we are now.”
Besides Palumbo’s stable of side projects (including Head Automatica and House of Blow), Beck became a father in March 2009 while cultivating a band merchandise company. Bassist Manuel Carrero and drummer Durijah Lang keep busy touring with New Jersey band Saves the Day. Though hectic schedules abound, Beck still considers Glassjaw a full-time job. Though it’s a far cry from 1993, when Beck and Palumbo started the group in Long Island that eventually made them monarchs of the mosh pit.
Two albums, two EPs and about four lineup changes later, the band looks at their latest metamorphosis as “a return to rhythm, melody and simplicity,” says Beck. Part of that metamorphosis came in 2004 when their lineup at the time, including Todd Weinstock, bassist Dave Allen and drummer Larry Gorman, was dismissed from the band for various reasons. And as the band changed prior to hitting the studio in 2007, so did the songs they wrote for the album.
“These songs were executed in a studio environment without a full team,” says Beck, who recorded everything independently alongside friend and producer/engineer Justin Florencio without backing from Warner Bros., their previous label. “Listening to old material makes us feel very anxious and just makes us think how some of those songs were intended to bounce and swing and not sprint.”
One could argue that the band still has plenty of “sprint” in tunes like “Natural Born Farmer” and “You Think You’re John (Fucking) Lennon,” balancing brilliant melodic trails with guttural, throat-shredding rage. They’ve shown a proclivity for Latin sounds buried in the polyrhythmic trance of “Jesus Glue.” And with a matured sound in place, it looks like things are slowly piecing together.
Though Glassjaw’s touring habits have been sporadic at best since 2003, three upcoming dates with Rx Bandits in L.A., Pomona and San Francisco as well as a fall East Coast tour with Brand New offer hope that the band is prepping for a full return to action. But even with their satisfying, sweaty rampages on stage, Beck and the band realize that it’s hard for fans to understand their laissez-faire logic on the album release.
“People get accustomed to habits, templates and routine,” says Beck. “So your average person computes: Glassjaw = Band, Band = Write, Record & Tour, Write, Record & Tour. So why would a music consumer think any differently? We are a band blessed with some fans but we are also a band just having fun, not trying to break new records with ticket sales and albums.”
Glassjaw w/Rx Bandits at The Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 865-3802; www.theglasshouse.us. Thurs, Nov. 12. Doors open 8PM. $25.
