Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence

Album Review

Rooted in New York hardcore aesthetic, but not in traditional hardcore per se, Glassjaw falls under a new breed of bands that pay homage to the traditional chant and response of classic NYHC (New York Hardcore) but without the chants, and without the shout-outs. If you think that makes little sense, so does Glassjaw's non-linear music. And even though Glassjaw doesn't look like an aggro rock band, they very much are. At least on paper. Featuring extraordinary ambidextrous drummer Sammy Siegler (of Gorilla Biscuits/CIV fame), Glassjaw has paired up with producer/entrepreneur Ross Robinson (a key catalyst in the reinvention of the aggro rock sound) to take you on a pummeling ride that would make Bad Brains and Quicksand proud. Along with Robinson's unorthodox production, Glassjaw places an inordinate emphasis on Daryl Palumbo's somewhat atonal voice, putting it at the forefront of the album's mix. His intense delivery wraps around the music, giving it an edge that one wouldn't otherwise expect. Intensely dense, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence succeeds on many levels. With Palumbo's ability to completely and unequivocally assault the senses with his voice, the subversive riffs of guitarists Beck and Todd Weinstock take songs like "Pretty Lush" and "When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros" to impressive places. With few choruses to speak of, the band literally piledrives the menacing material into the ground. Much like the Deftones, Glassjaw changes gears when you least expect it.