Western Courier

Issue date: 9/16/05 Section: The Edge

If anyone needs a check on their age and the rapidly passing time, the dawn of 1995 is now, in fact, a little more than 10 years old. Yikes. Many people reading this newspaper were even born 10 years before that; and if that's not enough to incite a slight feeling of depression, then surely the musical styling of Jawbreaker should suffice; if not by empathy toward the often morbid lyrics, then probably from the relationship-fueled angst which is painfully apparent and has the amazing ability to drudge up suppressed, rotten feelings of love and heartbreak.

"Dear You" is essentially an open-ended letter whose postage is paid by a combination of rage, sadness and ultimately, apathy. Mix all of these emotions with a staple of cigarettes and alcohol, and the amalgamation resembles the experience of many college students. Most of the songs run in at or under four minutes, but the longer slower ballads range to over six minutes.

As a band, Jawbreaker's blatant honesty and heart-on-your-sleeve approach to punk/indie influenced rock spawned an entire category of music and influenced bands such as Lagwagon, Saves the Day, the Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio.

The band's lyrical content is marked by a cynical, yet witty, approach to everyday situations and personal demons which singer Blake Schwarzenbach attempts to force the listener to experience as well.

"Dear You" is darkly humorous as Schwarzenbach huskily croons how "it hasn't been my day for a couple years, what's a couple more?" These songs are seemingly personal cathartic experiences and yet anyone who's ever felt a bit down on his or her luck could identify with them.

Standout tracks include the ironic "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault," "Jet Black," and the upbeat closing acoustic song "Unlisted Track." In earlier releases, such as "24 Hour Revenge Therapy" (1994) and its 1990 debut "Unfun," the band definitely took a more straight forward punk sound and combined it with Schwarzenbach's incredibly gruff and sarcastic vocals to provide an underground insurgence of post-'80s punk rock. Later, the popularity of pop punk culminated with the commercial success of bands like Blink-182, Rancid and Green Day, but left out less marketable bands, such as Jawbreaker.

Ultimately, the band flickered out with the mental breakdown of the lead singer, but its demise hatched the talented bands Jets to Brazil and Horace Pinker.

The impact of the band can still be felt within modern pop-punk bands that have been tagged with the label emo or indie rock, as what really defined Jawbreaker was its complete and uncompromised exposition of sentiment and wit.

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