Long Island, NY post-hardcore heroes Glassjaw are about to head to UK shores for the first time since the release of their long-awaited third album ‘Material Control’ back in December 2017. They’ll play just two select shows this August on a whistle-stop visit, the first being Friday night’s top slot at rising math-rock/noise-rock festival ArcTanGent, followed by a headline show at Brixton Academy.
Despite being their first album since 2002’s ‘Worship and Tribute’, ‘Material Control’ picks up right where they left off. Perhaps their heaviest material yet, the mammoth-sounding record proves that Glassjaw are just as vital as ever, 25 years down the line since their formation. In typical Glassjaw fashion, the band had cryptic plans surrounding the much-rumoured release of the record, all of which came crashing down when Amazon leaked the album title and tracklisting.
“I think there’s a large part of me that expects things to be done in that way rather than have it be smooth sailing,” explains vocalist Daryl Palumbo. “We wanted it to be a complete surprise – for the people who cared to be able to piece it together. Everyone was going to get sent a piece of the record at random and then they would communicate, and everyone would realise that there was a record. But when you invite other people to be part of it, you add lots of links to the chain and work with people you will never meet. Maybe sometimes people in this chain of command have an agenda to disrupt the big vision of ‘let’s execute X, Y and Z in this way and have it make a large impact’.”
