Jawbreaker

This is a band that needs no introduction. Jawbreaker were a three-piece band from 1989-1996, and are easily one of the most influential bands in punk history. Their members originated in California, but the band started when they relocated to New York (though they later moved back to California during their tenure). Jawbreaker were spearheaded by singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach and drummer Adam Pfahler, and soon joined by bassist Chris Baurmeister.

Their first releases came in 1989, with two demos, as well as the EP Whack & Blite and the single Busy. Their classic debut Unfun was released in 1990, which showed how tight of a band they had become. It demonstrated Blake's impeccable incredible songwriting ability, by balancing both the energy and gruffness of punk/hardcore with the melody and personal subject matter that would later become known as "emo" (as controversial as the term is). Despite how solid of an album they put out was, they broke up soon after on tour, and gained little attention at the time.

They eventually reformed and came back with Bivouac in 1992. Though Jawbreaker retained the same characteristics that made Unfun such a good album, they began getting more experimental, going slightly beyond the solid power chord formula of their debut. The bass lines became a bit more complex, as did Blake's guitar parts, and the songs themselves began to shift to more expansive structures, as evidenced by the title track or "Parabola". Essentially, Jawbreaker were listening to a lot of Fugazi and Big Black at the time. In addition to these influences, Jawbreaker still manage to knock out a few classic, straight-forward songs, such as "Chesterfield King" and "Sleep". Bivouac is an exceptional album, albeit not the best gateway to Jawbreaker.

Two years later, they released a little album called 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. This is arguably Jawbreaker's peak, in which they brought both the knockout catchy songs of Unfun, the more experimental aspect of Bivouac, and the time and experience being on tour gives. Blake's songwriting is top-notch, with some amazing songs such as "Do You Still Hate Me?", "Boxcar", "Jinx Removing", and "The Boat Dreams From The Hill". This album is more than just good music (and goddamn, is it that too). The songs here are incredibly meaningful, and as corny as it sounds, actually have the ability to influence lives. They are so relatable, and is what defines Jawbreaker as being an essential band for people between the ages of 15-25. They encapsulate the trials and tribulations of being young, and the frustration that comes with it. This makes these songs, and this album, absolutely seminal, and integral to the development of punk (even if Blake never was one), and more of a monument than an ashtray.

Jawbreaker gained a lot of attention after the release of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, particularly from major labels. Despite the band's intention to break up (again), they signed to DGC and released the career suicide album Dear You. It's a rare thing for a band to alienate their fans so harshly, to the point of ridiculousness almost. This new album featured a much cleaner production style, with all the instrumentation sounded polished, and Blake's vocals (post-throat surgery) being much cleaner. Some songs featured very expansive sections ("Jet Black", "Basilica", "Accident Prone"), that were in stark contrast to three-minute verse-chorus songs. Some songs sounded quite different from their past work, such as the campy "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault", or the acoustic "Unlisted Track". Despite that, the band managed to pump out some of their most classic tracks, such as "Sluttering (May 4th)", "Chemistry", "Accident Prone", and "Fireman". Personally, I love this album. Though it's not 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, the songs on here are incredibly enjoyable, even if they get a little corny. And if you put the "you're not punk, and I'm telling everyone" attitude aside, this is a solid album with some good production work, as well as adding to Jawbreaker's obvious influence on later bands.

The following year, the band broke up due to tensions finally making the members break. They released two notable things posthumously, the live album 4/30/96 in 1999, and Etc. in 2002. Etc. contained their songs on splits, unreleased tracks, covers, and demos. The band has not been active since the break-up, except for one meeting in 2007 when they got together for a documentary that has never been released. Members played in a few other bands after Jawbreaker's demise, including Jets To Brazil, The Thorns Of Life, Forgetters, Whyshall Lane, and J Church. However, Jawbreaker's work is still an incredibly important chunk of music, and they shaped the way punk, emo, alternative rock, hardcore, and pop punk were developed. Their music is timeless, so here's their discography. They've been a major influence on music, as well as people, which is a combination that "never goes out of style". Enjoy.

Demo #1 (1989)

1. Equalized

2. Down

3. Caroline

4. World Of Shit

5. Rich

6. Better Half

7. Split

Demo #2 (1989)

1. Driven

2. Imaginary War

3. Swallow

4. Want

5. Fantastic Planet

6. With Or Without U2

Whack & Blite EP (1989)

1. Lawn

2. Crane

3. Eye-5

Unfun (1990)

1. Want

2. Seethruskin

3. Fineday

4. Incomplete

5. Imaginary War

6. Busy

7. Softcore

8. Driven

9. Wound

10. Down

11. Gutless

12. Drone

No Idea Zine (1992)

1. Jawbreaker - Split

2. Samiam - Head Trap

Chesterfield King (1992)

1. Chesterfield King

2. Tour Song

3. Face Down

4. You Don't Know

5. Pack It Up

Bivouac (1992)

1. Shield Your Eyes

2. Big

3. Chesterfield King

4. Sleep

5. Donatello

6. Face Down

7. P.S. New York Is Burning

8. Like A Secret

9. Tour Song

10. You Don't Know...

11. Pack It Up

12. Parabola

13. Bivouac

Live @ The King's Head Inn - Norfolk, VA 06 Jun. 1993 (1993)

1. Do You Still Hate Me?

2. Ashtray Monument

3. Chesterfield King

4. Jinx Removing

5. Caroline/Face Down

6. Outpatient

7. The Boat Dreams From The Hill

8. Want

24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994)

1. The Boat Dreams From The Hill

2. Indictment

3. Boxcar

4. Outpatient

5. Ashtray Monument

6. Condition Oakland

7. Ache

8. Do You Still Hate Me?

9. West Bay Invitational

10. Jinx Removing

11. In Sadding Around

Dear You (1995)

1. Save Your Generation

2. I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both

3. Fireman

4. Accident Prone

5. Chemistry

6. Oyster

7. Million

8. Lurker II: Dark Son Of Night

9. Jet Black

10. Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault

11. Sluttering (May 4th)

12. Basilica

13. Unlisted Track

Live 4/30/96 (1999)

1. Intro

2. Jinx Removing

3. Save Your Generation

4. Ashtray Monument

5. Accident Prone

6. Boxcar

7. Gemini

8. Parabola

9. For Esme

10. Shirt

Etc. (2002)

1. Shield Your Eyes

2. Equalized

3. Caroline

4. Better Half

5. Split

6. Gutless

7. With or Without U2

8. Fantastic Planet

9. Rich

10. Peel It The Fuck Down

11. Pretty Persuasion

12. Kiss The Bottle

13. First Step

14. Friends Back East

15. Sea Foam Green

16. Housesitter

17. Into You Like A Train

18. Sister

19. Friendly Fire

20. Boxcar

Rarities

1. Equalized

2. Down

3. Rich

4. Split

5. World Of Shit

6. Caroline

7. Better Half

8. If I Could

9. Driven

10. Imaginary War

11. Want

12. Better Off

13. You're Right

14. Now

15. You Can't Afford Me

16. Schneider

17. Just What I Needed

18. Freebird

19. Chasing The Wildgoose

20. Welcome To Our Band

21. Eye-5

22. unknown song

23. Elephant

Note: This was compiled by Blogged and Quartered here, so I take no credit, but just wanted to share it and thank him for it. The first half or so consists of the songs on their first two demos, plus two ones that didn't appear on the links above. The second half consists of rare live tracks, some of which are covers, and range from 1990 all the way to 1996.