Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence

Glassjaw originally formed in 1993 after vocalist Daryl Palumbo and guitarist Justin Beck met each other working for a summer camp.[7] Throughout the next few years, the group issued various demo tapes and EPs and experienced many line up changes. Their line up would eventually stabilize by 1999, featuring bassist Manuel Carrero, guitarist Todd Weinstock, and drummer Sammy Siegler. With this line up, the group booked a recording session with local producer Don Fury, and the demo recording that resulted from it would eventually be heard by producer Ross Robinson. Robinson, impressed by the material, would then show up to a rehearsal, after which he offered them studio time at Indigo Ranch and convinced Roadrunner Records to sign the group.[8]

Recording sessions for the album lasted for about two months total.[8] While all material for the album was written by the band before production began, Robinson did influence arrangements of the tracks "Hurting and Shoving (She Should Have Let Me Sleep)" and the album's title track.[7]

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence has been noted for its overall angry and negative tone in terms of lyrics. The title track was written about Crohn's disease,[8] an intestinal disorder that Palumbo was diagnosed with in 1996.[9] Many songs on the record were written concerning bad relationships.

The album has been subject to criticism surrounding its misogynistic lyrical undertones, which have prompted various apologies from Daryl Palumbo.[10][11] In a 2017 article by Pitchfork titled "Unraveling the Sexism of Emo's Third Wave", Jenn Pelly addressed Glassjaw and the song "Pretty Lush" and criticised the band's lyrics for being "embarrassingly spiteful to bluntly-stated violence against women".[12] Following the article's publishing, Palumbo and the band made further statements condemning the lyrics, with Palumbo apologizing for the lyrics in an interview to The Guardian; "[the lyrics] deserve scrutiny. You don't talk to a woman like that. It took being that angry to write [the debut album's lyrics], to make it work for my instrument in the band. I was always like 'Argh, revenge!' Fall in love easily and then fall into hate easily. I didn't have to say it that way … It's stupid, you don't speak face-to-face to a woman like that. I was angry. It's offensive."[13][14]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	89%[15]
AllMusic	[16]
Kerrang!	[17]
NME	8/10[18]
Ox-Fanzine	Favorable[19]

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence has received generally favorable reviews.

Absolute Punk reviewer Namel praised the songs "Pretty Lush" and "Piano", but said some of the album's songs have "cringe-worthy" lyrics and criticized the track "Babe".[15] In a retrospective review of the album, MetalSucks reviewer Mike Gitter was highly positive of the album. Gitter stated "Glassjaw laid down the bitchslap in-extremis" and regarded the album as a landmark.[20] NME compared the album to "Jeff Buckley doused in napalm, crawling through a room full of broken glass."[18]

• Daryl Palumbo – vocals
• Justin Beck – guitar
• Manuel Carrero – bass guitar
• Todd Weinstock – guitar
• Sammy Siegler – drums
• Ross Robinson – production, mixing
• Steve Evetts – mixing
• Chuck Johnson – engineering
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Kaz Kiriya – band photography
• Paul Brown – image photography

• "Siberian Kiss" was featured in the soundtrack for Ginger Snaps (film).

Citations

Sources