Review Summary: Who the fuck wants to live forever.
El Mark is a concise representation of everything that makes Glassjaw special. Diverse and eclectic, the group flex and demonstrate their capabilities in a way that is so uniquely
them, the three humble tracks stylistically varied in a manner that would be audacious were it not so effortlessly executed. The berzerk and uplifting frenzy that is the titled track lets loose the dynamic and well versed duo of Palumbo's trademark delivery and Beck's rattled guitar in a spastic, straightforward mosh, a charmingly energetic nod to the style they're most accustomed. No sooner have the riffs finished echoing does the sombre lull of
The Number... interject, painstakingly slow and deliberate in its “heart on my sleeve” plea, an honest, piano tainted croon all the more juxtaposed by the tracks surrounding it, and
Oxycodone is certainly a stark difference. Relatively new territory, the jazzy, rhythm driven meander of spat lyrics and grooving bass brings the release to a close with a natural confidence and flow that could only be gained with gratuitous experience in one's craft. Glassjaw are no longer the embittered, unidirectional misfits they once were, they're composed and flexible musicians, and I can think of no three tracks that could better epitomize that fact.
