This writeup is based (loosely) on a review of the album which I wrote for no particular reason, and which has been sitting around on my machine these past months acomplishing nothing.
I first heard this band on a Rock Sound Magazine coverdisc in May of 2000. I was listening to it while working at my computer, only half paying attention to the songs when I heard one track which not so much caught my ear as slapped me in the face and demanded my full and undivided attention. Driven by intensely powerful bass with guitars weaving airy soundscapes and drumming, this was a good song. But there was something else- something very special about this band- the vocals. The singer had a spectacular voice, and the ammount of emotion on display was startling. It affected me in a way I was totaly un-prepared for. I listened to the song again that night on my Discman, and alone, in the dark, the song literaly brought me to tears.
The song was 'When One Eight Becomes Two Zeroes', by a band called Glassjaw. I got hold of the album as soon as I could. It blew me off my feet. The music is beautiflly melodic yet uncompromisingly brutal, complimenting singer Daryl's vocals and lyrics brilliantly. The instruments work very well together- you never get the feeling that one's trying to outdo another. For a band with two dedicated guitars, the sound remains clear and prescise- testament to the guitarists' considerable skill, and Ross Robinsons meticulous production.
I honestly can't get accross how intense this album is. Just buy it. I don't care who you are, you cannot fail to be deeply moved by it.
Track Listing:
- Pretty Lush
- Siberian Kiss
- When One Eight Becomes Two Zeroes
- Ry Ry's Song
- Lovebites and Razorlines
- Hurting and Shoving (She Should Have Let Me Sleep)
- Majour
- Her Middle Name Was Boom
- Piano
- Babe
- Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence
- Motel Of The White Locust