Glassjaw
Worship And Tribute
Warner
Initially impressive-sounding, the novelty of Glassjaw soon enough wears thin, and Worship And Tribute proves to be just about as contrived and wannabe-moody as the main portion of producer Ross Robinson’s other bands. There are some really massive things on here, though, and Glassjaw certainly has some things going for them – only it’s not enough.
The epic “Tip Your Bartender” is a great hardcore take on Angel Dust-era Faith No More, a panicky and violent affair, while “Mu Empire” is pissed-off emo with an evil attitude, even bringing to mind no less than Fugazi. But far too often Glassjaw succumbs to taking the easy way out, churning out lazy prog-core and sub-emo rawk. The music tends to merely dwindle away in a tiresome series of jumpy time signatures that loose any actual impact by sheer repetition and rambling on.
Glassjaw certainly has the potential to come up with a thoroughly enjoyable album, and Robinson might even be just the right man to take them there. But on this evidence, they still have quite a bit of work ahead of them. As it is, this is something of a disappointment from a band that always seemed to hold great promise of better things to come.
Warner Brothers Records: http://www.wbr.com
