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Glassjaw - Our Color Green (The Singles)

The first official collection from the hardcore legends in years - but is it worth the wait?

Rating: 9

We could talk for hours about Glassjaw but now – finally! – it’s time to ignore whether or not you think they’re lazy or pretentious or genius or artists and concentrate solely on new music. Of course, ‘Our Color Green’ isn’t exactly ‘new’, seeing as the band released each song on seven-inch in a variety of unique ways (for example ‘Stars’ came out back in November and was sold alongside a seven-inch pizza, which was only available for a few hours at a certain pizzeria), but the fact they’ve put together something official for the first time in years is hugely significant. Yeah, it’s ‘just’ an EP of not-exactly-new tunes but when they’re this good all that time doesn’t matter. Axl Roses wishes he could pull this shit off.

And, it’s hugely pleasing to report, these five songs are exactly what you’d expect from a band this talented who’ve taken their time to create something special. Granted, ‘You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon)’ has been knocking around in some form or another for over a decade but when it kicks in it’s as thrilling as anything they’ve ever released, and the fluidity of ‘Stars’ (a rejigged version of 'Star Above My Bed'), even when changing pace and tone seemingly at will, is staggering to behold. As songwriters and players they’ve matured but without losing any of what made them gamechangers in the first place; ‘Jesus Glue’, for example, has a clear lineage from ‘Tip Your Bartender’ but drapes Latin tones over pummelling hardcore with a confidence that only comes from cast-iron self-belief. And ‘Natural Born Farmer’, all snarling guitars and gut-punch bass, shows that when they want to fucking slam it they can, well, fucking slam it.

So, is ‘Our Color Green’ worth the wait? It’s five brilliant songs next to each other. How could it not be enough?