Men, Women & Children - 'Men, Women & Children'

What the hell happened to Glassjaw then? A few short years ago the NY quintet were turning our faces into soup with their cathartic straight-edge hardcore sonic sheet lightning, the next they apparently imploded and were sucked into a vortex of bubblegum pop rock. The experience was obviously an exorcism for all involved, as Men, Women & Children proves beyond Daryl Palumbo's Head Automatica. This debut album, pioneered by ex-axeman Todd Weinstock and friends, isn't at all what you'd expect with such a pedigree in the extreme. As a complete u-turn, this is more Earth, Wind & Fire shaking bossa nova ass with The Mars Volta (particularly easy to see in a track like ¡Celebracion!) than Megadeth hooks for the 21st century, but it all works well without the buzz-saw riffery. Like the second song forewarns; Lightning Strikes Twice In New York, it just didn't maim our collective mug this time.