The Singles Jukebox

One man’s trash is anothe–well, read for yourself.

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[5.14]

Alfred Soto: He’s gay, Mormon, and addicted to bad vowel sounds.
[3]

Cassy Gress: It’s not “Viernes”, but it’s damn close, both in content and quality. Where Alex Anwandter sang his song with the tense fury of someone being physically restrained, Tyler Glenn sings this with sheer fire, amplified by how all of his “u”s get turned into “a”s (“treasaahhh”, “superstitiaaahhhn”). And sneaking up on the listener at the end of the relatively calm-sounding chorus, “Maybe I’ll see you in hell / OK, whatever / One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” speaks for itself.
[8]

Thomas Inskeep: I wish there’d been a song this good on Adam Lambert’s last album; this is bleep-bloop meets wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am and is better than anything I’ve ever heard from Neon Trees. Glenn sounds like a man (spiritually? sexually?) liberated; coming out will do that. Seductive and hypnotic.
[8]

Jer Fairall: A vocalist as tame as Glenn’s needs a rock band as tame as Neon Trees, but because “Trash” is about Serious Subject Matter, it gets a harsh, distorted electro-grind to drive home the point of its author’s anguish. While I don’t doubt his conviction, there’s no turning this dour thing into an anthem for anyone’s liberation, and even if it were, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is an oddly backhanded way of expressing it.
[3]

Will Adams: I respect Glenn’s frustration with his religion and his choice to lash out against it, but between the stale electro patter and him trying trying trying to seethe, “Trash” is the kind of inert rage song better left to be a blueprint for something that has more nuance and bite.
[4]

Brad Shoup: He can’t help himself: he’s still working in a strict pop mode. That tuba-like bass and his attempt at vocal bile don’t multiply into disgust. I believe the anger, but it still feels like a concession.
[4]

Taylor Alatorre: This is clearly a song he needed to make, but is it one that we needed to hear? On the one hand, it distinguishes itself from the glut of boilerplate anti-religion hymns by directing Glenn’s grievances against a specific set of doctrines within a specific institution. Man vs. Man will always be a more compelling story than Man vs. God. Unfortunately, it’s also bathed in those corroded dubstep gargles that Skrillex wisely abandoned once they started showing up in the Men in Black credits. But in a song that’s all about defiance of stifling moral codes, a rebellion against good taste has to count as extra credit.
[6]