As our country seems like it’s collapsing around us under the weight of its own political and economic shortcomings, or because it’s autumn and the world is actually falling around us, Murfreesboro-born band, Glossary, released their seventh studio album, Long Live All of Us, early in October. This band offers their comforting gift to local ears that are gearing up for another Murfreesboro winter. It’s doing this so positively that they’re bordering on a Christian rock band subtly hinting the Lord’s message over foot-tapping garage rock and alt country. However, whatever you take from it, know it might provide a sense of warmth while things are turning cold out there.
Released from Little Rock’s Last Chance Records, Long Live All of Us, covers a range of influences throughout its 12 tracks from band mates Eric Giles, Bingham Barnes and Todd Beene’s Wilco/Billy Bragg sound to hints of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty in lead singer Joey Kneiser’s vocals.
All is hopeful and warmly inspirational, too, beginning on the leading track “Trouble Won’t Always Last,” which resembles a bouncy, mid-tempo Tweedy arrangement held up by an upright piano and complimented by Kelly Kneiser on backing vocals. The following couple of tracks sing from the same hymn book but trade the upright piano for Nashon Benford and Jim Spake’s first appearance of Motown-inspired horns while J. Kneiser tries out his Costello in “A Shoulder to Cry On” and Petty on “The Flood.”
Glossary’s first slow tempo song “Cheap Wooden Cross” comes around with a post-hardcore indie sound. The foot-tapping gives way to confusing suspicion between them singing romantic verse or if they’re hiding church-recruitment lyrics from the Baptist House on campus: “I found a cheap wooden cross/Ain’t nothing but a piece of wood/And I guess it’s up to me, honey/to find out if it means what it should.” Both love-hungry college guys as well as recruiting pastors have thought that at some point.
Long Live All of Us stays true to this first part of the album’s organization of ambiguously divine lyricism and alternative country rock, rarely straying from it through the likes of “When We Were Wicked,” “Heart Full of Wanna” and “Some Eternal Spark.” But the perfect slow-dance song “Under a Barking Moon” breaks from that notion with what sounds like a tribute to Randy Newman lyrically embracing the darker part of the street as K. Kneiser’s backing harmony sends chill bumps up an arm or two.
Glossary is currently touring to promote Long Live with shows in Arkansas and Texas but have scheduled Nashville appearances with Lucero, Nov. 18 and 19 at Mercy Lounge. The album and band updates can be found at glossary.us.
The title of the record is wrong throughout the whole review. I don’t understand all of the christian references at all. Glossary is a great band, but not a ‘christian rock’ band. This review is pretty awful.
Comment November 11, 2011 @ 11:36 am