Sunday the 24th: Glassjaw - New White Extremity

     How in the fuck did I miss this one? We might not have any details about a new Glassjaw record yet, but apparently back at the start of December we got a rough cut of one of its new tracks. Squee!!

    "New White Extremity" sounds like... well, it sounds like Glassjaw. Driving, abrasive, energetic, groovy -- a melding of an eclectic collection of influences and sounds that is at once reminiscent of the band's older work and a bit of something new. It's not Worship and Tribute 2.0, but then is that actually what anybody would have wanted? I'll reserve final judgment for when (or if...) I hear the rest of this record, but for the time being I'd say "New White Extremity" is a good start on ending the Glassjaw drought.

Album of the Week: Glassjaw - Worship and Tribute

     We're going back a bit for this week's album, to the sophomore effort more than a decade ago of one of post-hardcore's most under-appreciated bands. Regular readers will surely be familiar with my love for this record, but now you're all going to get the opportunity to find out why.

     Worship and Tribute came out in 2002, but to me it still feels fresh and immediate. Glassjaw's mixture of hardcore, funk, electronic-sounding instrumentation, and even some energetic international flavours yields a combination that's tremendously well balanced. Heavy and aggression underlie jagged dissonance as well as polished melody, and all of it is tied together with Daryl Palumbo's distinctive vocal acrobatics.

     Unfortunately for all of us Glassjaw fans, the band is about as productive as Tool is, meaning that Glassjaw hasn't released an LP since Worship and Tribute and doesn't look like they'll be doing so any time soon. A few scattered tracks and an EP have trickled out, but it's been a case of too few and too far between to fill the huge shoes of Worship and Tribute, a true classic of the genre. Get acquainted this week if you're not already.

Glassjaw - Ape Dos Mil

     Even though there's still plenty of snow on the ground here, it is nevertheless almost spring, which means the summer tour and festival season is right around the corner. This year's Heavy MTL festival in Montreal, however, has a line-up that doesn't do a whole lot for me, especially considering I'd have to go to Montreal to see it (Heavy TO is, alas, little more than a memory).

     The 2014 edition of Rockfest in Montebello (also dans la Belle Province, for the uninitiated) looks considerably more interesting. Not only is the sheer number of bands I'd like to see higher (at least a half dozen as opposed to the three or so on the bill at Heavy MTL) but some of said bands are much more interesting choices than those at Heavy. Like Glassjaw. Seriously. Glassjaw!

     Who the fuck knows when we'll see a new Glassjaw LP, if ever, so for now we'll just have to jam some old stuff (namely the relatively chill "Ape Dos Mil" from 2002's classic Worship and Tribute) and content ourselves with the possibility of seeing the band tear it up at a sweet-looking summer festival. And hey look, Rockfest is right around my birthday. Now you know what to get me.

Song of the Day (Monday): Glassjaw - Mu Empire

     I know I've done it a time or two here in the Song of the Day section of Loud Noises, but I'm going to do it again today, because every once in a while I feel the urge to revisit the awesomeness of Glassjaw and lament the lack of a new record from them still.

Song of the Day: Glassjaw - Black Nurse

     Resurrection Week continues, and while today's band technically isn't dead yet, I'd say they're on life support and in need of resuscitation for sure. I believe my favourite past description of them was something along the lines of "the Guns and Roses of modern heavy music" since their next album has supposedly been in the works for years. Therefore, if my wee little blog could somehow "resurrect" Glassjaw this week, I'd be pleased as punch.

Song of the Day: Glassjaw - Radio Cambodia

     In the same way that yesterday's song came about because I felt that Opeth was underrepresented in theLoud Noises Song of the Day catalogue, today's song comes from another band you should know about if you don't already, and a band that's like the Guns and Roses of post-hardcore in the sense that their new album has been so long in coming that  one doubts it'll ever arrive. But in the meantime...

Song of the Day: Glassjaw - Tip Your Bartender

     Glassjaw is a bit like Guns and Roses. How, you ask? Well, it's been ten years since their last full length, the stupidly awesome Worship and Tribute, and we're all still waiting for the follow-up that has supposedly been in the works off and on for years. Of course the difference is that Glassjaw have at least put out a couple of EPs worth of new material in that time, if only in limited release. Hopefully my comparing them to Guns and Roses will somehow speed things along.