Glasseater is a band with a major image complex. Is it a punk-pop band? Is it a hardcore band? Perhaps it's neither; maybe it's both.
Glasseater's self-titled album starts out with a slick, poppy punk tune, "Medicine." The second track begins in the same manner until halfway through the song, whereupon demonic sounding vocals pipe in on the chorus with "They don't understand!" and the uninitiated
Glasseater listener can't help but raise an eyebrow. It sounds so out of place it seems to be almost ridiculous. The punk-pop stuff was sounding pretty good, as the singer has a good voice and the musicianship is tight. There are some great hooks, and tunes like "Miles Ahead" showcase some spectacular harmonies on the chorus. Unfortunately, the same song showcases one of
Glasseater's primary problems: What would normally be considered a great breakdown of sludgy guitar riffs isn't realistic when played by these four Florida men. On their own, the vocals would be great for a punk-pop album, and on its own the riff would be great for a hardcore or even punk album, but combined it's just too clean and almost overproduced, the antithesis of what good hardcore and punk should be. Combined with the consistent stupidity of the persistent B movie-sounding demonic vocal, not even an amazing dirge like "Alone in a World Without You" can save the album from a huge streak of mediocrity. ~ Kurt Morris