For a band with as much well publicized label problems as Glassjaw have had, they've still sure managed to make a name for themselves in recent times. With a rabid fan base in place that seems to grow exponentially each day, the group have already emerged as one of the biggest buzz bands of the year. Sure such a status may seem somewhat ironic when considering that they just recently jumped ship from Roadrunner Records to Warner Bros. Records, but it also goes to prove that it is their music, not the label hype, that wins over so many in this Long Island, NY based quintets favor. "Worship And Tribute", their second full-length release on a large label, proves such bold statements to be true as it is the epitome of a band finding its voice, experimenting and branching out its craft, while still writing the same earnest style of songs that writhe and thrash about with intensity only to collapse into cathartic heartfelt emotional wreckage's.

Band frontman Daryl Palumbo's extremely enthusiastic vocal stylings have been described as Elvis Costello fronting the Bad Brains and as odd as such a pairing might sound, it somehow feels right. Daryl's delivery is overtly emotive and elastic, expressing himself like a passionate tidal wave that progresses all the way from fearsome screams to bubbling whispers, often chaotically building up and subsequently diminishing his strength in the same verse. The ability to create such varied gushing aural catharses has established him as a unique vocalist and with a far more confident performance that includes a wider range and broader lyrical content in play this time around, it looks like his emerging wave of clones will now find themselves back at the drawing board. Guitar wise the album is a tad bit less riff oriented in comparison to their last full-length offering as it finds the guitar team of Justin Beck and Todd Weinstock now immersing themselves in a wealth of dizzying atmospheric screeches and jangles that push the sonic spectrum of the band to completely foreign territories. As such, during the first few listens it may appear that a lot of the six stringers contributions are merely oddly constructed noises anchored by crunchy distorted riffs. Such initial impressions are misleading however, because as the album becomes more familiar it begins to show its true colors and reveal that their excessive experimentation is in place to compliment and bridge the gap between themselves and the ever eccentric vocals. To aid such a colorful performance, stylishly loose bass playing is inserted underneath and adds its voice through open ended structures and plucks that spiral about in the background, offering up an astonishing amount of identity to the tracks with their supportive, yet unpredictable note progressions and scale changes. This in turn makes for a varied and slightly out of synch rhythm section as hard hit drumming, complete with aggressive convoluted beats, causes tension with the chameleon like bass lines while also adding a sense of friction that really ignites the tracks overall.

Perhaps the two most notable evolution's of the band on this album are their decided distancing from the post NY hardcore sound and a lesser focus on relationships in terms of lyrical content. The increased instrumentation is also an improvement and has been beefed up along with the scope of the songs, such as the conceptual announcer styled breakdown in "Cavalcade" or the extra ethnic drumming included in "Trailer Park Jesus". It is imaginative inclusions such as these which allow the group to retain a much fuller sound overall while also making the music all the more inspiring and expansive, leading them to new heights and lows they never would have been able to reach had they simply made another "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence". This is also the albums strength and its weakness however as this choice of direction slightly diminishes the immediacy of the songs and causes them to become less accessible and at times extremely indulgent, a move which will probably alienate some of those who enjoyed the groups more traditionally written material in the past. Still, such complaints aside it is a moody album and though it gets tangled up in itself now and then, it is also a refreshing experience that will no doubt solidify Glassjaw as a band with an extremely bright future. Usually statements about a band such as the latter are filled with hollow wishes or media hype, but for once here is a group with the integrity, creativity and talent to back it all up, making "Worship And Tribute" one of the few must have albums of the year, not to mention the foundation for what looks to be a long and illustrious career.