“My local record shop in Camberley was called The Rock Box, and the staff who worked there were super great. If you became even half-buddies with them, they would point you towards good records, which is really what record store personal should do. At some point, one of the guys said, ‘Oh, you like Deftones, right? You’d like these guys, too. They’re called Glassjaw.’ The connection wasn’t so strong, in my opinion. But I bought [Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About] Silence and I was weirded out at first, honestly. It didn’t sound anything like Deftones. There was heavy guitars and riffs, but the technicality and energy was completely different and Daryl Palumbo’s voice took a long time to get used to. It was different from anything else I’d heard. It was so unique, it was just so out there."
“I already listened to a lot of screamy stuff, so it wasn’t so much of a leap it put me off entirely, and I stuck with them. Eventually, I realised, ‘Oh my God, this is my favourite record in the world!’ Crucially, for me, I was 16 or 17 and you’re supposed to be pouring over lyrics and identifying with them, but I’d never done that with the bands I listened to. Nirvana for example, Kurt’s lyrics were so opaque and weird, I couldn’t really relate to them. Or Marilyn Manson, who I was also listening to, he painted macabre fairy tales that sort of talked about America’s relationship with Jesus, which didn’t really translate to my home counties teenage life at all."
“But when I heard …Silence, a lot of what I was hearing related to my experience growing up, particularly Daryl’s troubles with the fairer sex and his relationships. That’s all over ….Silence – sometimes in pretty ugly ways let’s be frank. But I connected with that, as I was figuring out the mysteries of love at the time. To hear this guy confused about it all too, I really locked onto it. That was huge for me."
“Then Worship And Tribute came along in the summer of 2002 and that sort of opened the floodgates for the likes of Finch, Funeral For A Friend, The Used and the likes. I could never get into the ‘emo’ explosion, but Glassjaw were really good. It was still an exciting time. Worship And Tribute was a more concise and slicker record, but …Silence is still my favourite. I just can’t top it. It’s so visceral, so emotional and chaotic. I love Ross Robinson’s production, too."
“I saw them live when they were touring that album, and it was amazing. Daryl was still getting very ill at that stage and often they would have to cancel shows. I was incredibly lucky to see them on the second date of their Worship… tour in Newcastle. I think he got ill and had to go home the next day. It was a bit of a weird show, truthfully. The venue was strange. It was a funny vibe, with not much energy from the crowd and it was an all round weird evening for me, as my friend took the opportunity to sit me down and explain the reasons why he hated me! I was there with my wife as well and Glassjaw mean a lot to us, especially some of the slower stuff off Worship And Tribute. It was really special, but maybe not as intense as I was expecting. I’d love to see them again."
“People keep saying Material Control is coming 15 years later, but as far as I’m concerned there was a new Glassjaw album in those two 2011 EPs. I think they work very well as an album if you play them back to back. I regard that as the third album. There’s so much expansion and mystery about them. “If Shira had come after Worship And Trubute, I’d be like, ‘Awww yeah!’, but because we’ve had those two EPs, it sort of sounds a bit to me like they might have gone back a bit. It’s great, and no-one else could do it, but I was hoping they’d go even further along the lines of the EPs. I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve heard it all though. I’m very excited to hear the new album.”
CHRIS LOPORTO, CAN’T SWIM