Glasseater
Everything Is Beautiful When You Don’t Look Down
Victory
Glasseater’s third album sees the Miami-based outfit moving ever further away from the straight-edge hardcore of their early days, towards a more melodic and inclusive sound. Fans of the band’s original HC sound have been dropping like flies since last year’s self-titled album, which also marked the lead vocal debut of former drummer Julio C. Marin. But even more people have discovered the band’s unique crossover appeal and solid craftsmanship.
Glasseater’s combination of growled vocals and clean singing is kept more in check here than on previous releases, and coupled with Marin’s vocal growth, this makes for a much more well-rounded album than before. It’s also a far more accessible and considered album, with Glasseater sharpening their focus and their sense of melody, gaining a strong sense of passion and momentum, although they have perhaps lost some of the couldn’t-care-less spontaneity of earlier records.
Quite simply, this is the sound of a band growing up: Last year’s Glasseater had Marin singing about his total commitment to his friends and their shared past – particularly in reference to those who had lost “the edge.” This new album, however, is about letting go and growing up. While this is a more inwards-looking album, the band’s sense of glorious, shimmering melody is as strong as ever.
This isn’t Glasseater’s best album – 7 Years Bad Luck has a more insistent, intriguing attack, and Glasseater is both more consistent and downright endearing. But some of the songs on here – the title track, “Greetings… Goodbye” and “To Feel Adored” – are among the band’s absolute best yet, showing huge progress, a brave willingness to explore their musical boundaries and an acute understanding of why Glasseater is a much better band than most of their melodic hardcore peers. Glasseater has yet to make the great punk-pop album they surely have in them, but Everything Is Beautiful proves they have both the capacity and the musical curiosity to eventually release their full potential.
Victory Records: http://www.victoryrecords.com/
