“Absolutely gut wrenching”, “Criminally underlooked”.
Jawbreaker are a San Francisco based Hardcore/Pop-Punk/Emo band with some very glaring and unique characteristics that set them apart from their contemporaries.
On first listen you might think “I’ve heard this before?”. The Pop-Punk shtick with deeply personal & poetic lyrics, a feracious rhythm section, some very “muscular”, power-chord laden guitars & anthemic choruses. If you’re asking yourself that, you’re probably familiar with the lineage of bands that evolved from the same common ancestor that is Jawbreaker. Not saying the were the first to do it. They just appeared at the right to give the budding “Emo” sound, some real hefty shoulders, added with the melodic sensibilities of pop music that broadened their appeal and how digestible they could be to the “Core” audience while remaining gritty with that Hardcore Punk intuition.
There’s a lot of bands that try to emulate Jawbreaker, or at least the most conventional and prevailing aspects of their music. The brutally distinctive and personal lyrics, ripped straight from the diary entries of a sullen teenager who’s trying to channel Bukowski and Ginsberg, with an underlining accusatory tone, when it concerns “Punk” credibility (Ironically, they polarised a lot of their fans by signing to major label DGC for 1995’s Dear You). These lyrics delivered through Blake Schwarzenbach’s throat shredding singing technique, which down the line caused him to develop a polyp on his vocal cords. In the early days, Jawbreaker had an unwavering devotion to independence and the punk scene in general. They toured the entirety of the States independently. Couped up in the back of a very suspect minivan with a sweltering leather couch sloshing around the back, like a wild orca being swept from the ocean to be transported to Seaworld. The band broke up multiple times in the early days due to this extremely strenuous environment. It’s these quirks that they wear on their sleeves that makes them distinct in the Emo-core crowd.
There’s something so distinctly intimate about it all. The initial hook for me was the lyrics. It’s not very often Schwarzenbach is brought into the discussion for the Mount Rushmore of lyricists. Personally, I’d take “Want” over anything Bob Dylan or Morrissey has made, any day of the week. There’s a certain desperation, vulnerability in the delivery. The fact Schwarzenbach was putting on the most strenuous performance, frying his vocal cords whilst putting all his feelings on display like that. You think to yourself “Why are you putting yourself through all this man?” The commitment to it, the frequently uncomfortable scenario’s the whole band put themselves through. It’s commendable to say the least.
Getting back to Unfun… Despite the title, the listening experience very much implies the opposite. Drummer Adam Pfahler is constantly jamming in a rolling tom fill wherever he can. He’s an absolute manic of a drummer. A golden retriever of a drummer. With the songwriting being quite rudimentary at its core, Pfahler’s performance makes the instrumentals feel multifaceted with each revolving chorus & verse. Bassist Chris Bauermeister’s playing feels so crucial to these early Jawbreaker records. His bassline on “Want” is such a defining pop-punk riff. The Jawbreaker rhythm section really sets the bar and gives Blake a ton of room to jam out these thumping power-chords and bark out his idiosyncratic balladry.
All in all, one of the most definitive bands for poetic lyrics of the 90’s. An essential debut record with a clear line of progression throughout their discography, culminating with 1995’s Dear You, a polarising record for die-hard fans but still lyrically dense, even if slightly more commercial.
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