Jawbreaker / Jets To Brazil

150

Jawbreaker are a pop-punk trio that bridged the gap between Nirvana and blink-182. It would be too easy to brush Jawbreaker off as just another pop-punk band with simple melodies but their poetic lyrics and complex song structures prove anything but. Jawbreaker is an emo/punk rock band based in San Francisco, CA's Mission District, although the band's members, Blake Schwarzenbach (vocals/guitar), Chris Bauermeister (bass), and Adam Pfahler (drums), actually came together at New York University in the mid 1980's. The band's first release was 1989's "Whack & Blite" 7" on their own Blackball Records. The band released 4 LPs (1990’s Unfun, 1991’s Bivouac, 1993’s high-water-mark 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, and 1995’s major-label debut and decisive Dear You [which saw a sorta-Pinkerton-effect, many fans were upset about the major label switch... that isn't very punk-rock...but in retrospect, this is one of their best efforts... In my opinion at least...].). Although the band was independently minded and adhered to the old-school D.I.Y. punk mentality, it wasn’t long before the major labels came barking after word got out about this West Coast punk-pop trio’s street-smart, yet poetic- lyrics, spirited musicality, and marathon live shows. The band eventually signed to DGC at the end of 1994. However, their major label debut, Dear You, failed to expand their audience and brought cries of "sell out" from their punk rock fan base. This, coupled with already-present interpersonal tensions within the band that had reached the breaking point caused the band to split in 1996. Sadly, the group disbanded in 1996, leaving 2002's Etc., a collection of all of the group's non-album material, as their last will and testament. Luckily the band has reunited and their back catalogue has had its proper expanded and reissued treatment. Following the split, the members performed with other acts, most notably Blake's Jets To Brazil. In Jets to Brazil (which formed in 1997), Schwarzenbach was able to explore more choral, keyboard, and quieter work. “The Frequency” is a good example of this melodic emotional power. The band would record three albums: 1998’s Orange Rhyming Dictionary, 2000’s Four Cornered Night, and 2002’s Perfecting Loneliness. Both bands are amazing, proving what an amazing songwriting Blake Schwarzenback is. What the future holds with either bands is up in the air but hold new possibilities. What a thrill!

It’s…

Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil

Comments

The Band

19 The Band The Band First known as the Hawks, the Band got their initial fame as Bob Dylan’s backing band. Remember when Bob Dylan sold out and went electric, angering fans so much that they called him “ Judas ”? Well, you can thank all of that to the Band. For a band that sounds so fucking American (seriously- no band has done the whole Americana roots music better than the Band) it’s pretty funny most of them were Canadian. After finally branching out on their own in 1968, the Band would release some of the best music ever recorded… and if you thought the Beatles had a hell of a run- check out the Band’s discography: 1968’s Music From Big Pink , 1969’s self-titled The Band , 1970’s Stage Fright , 1971’s Cahoots , 1972’s live-album Rock of Ages , 1973’s Moondog Matinee , 1975’s Northern Lights -Southern Cross , and 1977’s Islands. Lynard Skynard may have taken the crown for greatest southern rock band, but for a band full of Canadians and Americans, the Band really embraces a...

Crystal Castles

61 Crystal Castles Crystal Castles If you ever wondered what it would sound like if the video-game character Mario was catapulted through a plate-glass window- you'd get close to describing Crystal Castles. Cut up vocals and soothing waves of synth, live shows known for "fan riots, crowd surges, and metal barriers destroyed" Toronto electronic-punk-bleep-pop duo Crystal Castles is music that could only be made in the post-modern / post-millennium era, with a fan base that remembers the 8-bit era. Some dance music is meant to be played in the dark, but few dance bands bring their own darkness. This is dance music for sociopaths. Crystal Castles is the brain-child of Ethan Kath. The band began as a Kath solo project in 2003, but the producer recruited a 15-year-old Alice Glass to add vocals. Glass recorded rough soundcheck vocals for five tracks, which were secretly recorded by an en engineer, and Kath uploaded the material un der the name Crystal Castles. After rele...

Courtney Barnett

58 Courtney Barnett Courtney Barnett I first came on board with Courtney Barnett on her excellently titled debut album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit . Songs like " Depreston " and " Pedestrian At Best " spoke to my inner- nineties-child... someone who was just an infant during grunge and missed out on the prime years of that era- this was like a last-minute invitation to that party. Barnett has the energy of Nirvana with the pop sensibilities of Pavement. She first came on everyone's radar with the release of the song :Avant Gardener." If you l isten to " Avant Gardene r," an autobiographical account of trying to turn a life around through gardening, only to be foiled by a severe allergic reaction; it features some of the best lyric-writing in music today. There was something special about this Australian singer-songwriter. Like a grunge hangover. Few speak truth to mundanity quite like singer/songwriter Courtney Barne...

Bands That I Like

Search This Blog