Glossary

Long Live All Of Us [UK reissue] (2013)

Rich Cocksedge

Non-Punk Alert: The following review is of a record that is not punk. If you only listen to punk and believe that your only musical enjoyment should come from such narrow confines then please move on.

Glossary are a quartet hailing from the wonderfully named Murfeesboro in Tennessee, and Long Live All Of Us is their seventh album–although their first to receive a proper release in the UK via Xtra Mile Recordings, a UK-based label that has started making inroads into the American music world. With six albums under the belt, it's clear that Glossary, fronted by Joey Kneiser, have a good sense of what works and the results on Long Live All Of Us are a dozen songs that are mostly chilled and relaxed. It's the kind of music for setting down for a cozy evening in with your partner. These songs are laced with uniquely classic melody–like what might have been if a mad scientist crossed Elvis Costello and Billy Joel, and gave the resultant ‘monster' a host of records from labels such as Motown and Stiff.

Despite the overarching, laid-back feeling that Long Live All Of Us emits, there are the occasional moments when the tempo and urgency are upped, such as "Trouble Won't Last Always," "When We Were Wicked" and "Heart Full Of Wanna." Not surprisingly, all three are standouts.

Long Live All Of Us isn't a bad record, but to be honest it's not one that makes me yearn to track down the preceding six long players; I'm more than content to stick this one in my collection and pick it up when the mood requires just what Kneiser and his pals are offering.