Glassjaw has always been a bit of an outlier.
While the early 2000s Long Island punk scene was split between witty, weepy emo kids and muscle-bound hardcore tuff-guys, Glassjaw was a different beast entirely. Their ferocity and pop sensibility were never at odds with one another.
2017 has come and gone, and it’s left us with some really great music. Here are my favorites.
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I’m not sure if there has ever been a record quite like Worship and Tribute. People talk a lot about bands trafficking in loudness and softness, but nobody ever did it quite like Glassjaw did here.
And while their heavy tracks are among the best in the biz (see: the first three tracks, “Pink Roses,” “Radio Cambodia”), the ballads on this album are absolutely unforgettable. “Ape Dos Mil” and “Must’ve Run All Day” pack just as much of a punch at a fraction of the tempo.
And at the end of the day, I’m not sure which is more impressive: that Daryl Palumbo’s keeping up with the band’s fury, or the band matching his mania. But I do know (from singing along in the car as a teenager: this album was essentially my Advanced Vocal Techniques class) that Palumbo’s performance is one of the most physically demanding around.