Jawbreaker Album: “Dear You [Expanded]”

Wow, I remember when this was first put out by DGC, and the first time I saw the video for fireman. I only saw the video once on 120 minutes. I was so shocked and so pleased. Having made 24 hour revenge my 10th grade record and trying to write like Blake. This album is what made say wow. One if not their best. I think some people may not share the same idea. All I can remember after this album was put out every one in my cool punk rock circle kept saying "oh man they sold out, thats it it's over." Then a few years go by the band breaks up and all the same kids are saying what a great record it was, and how Jets will never live up to Jawbreaker and blah, blah, blah. You know what this record is one of the best punk/emo or what ever you want to call it, records ever put out. If it wasnt then why I ask does go for crazy prices on ebay? Im 27 and this record is still as important to me now, as it was then. Blake is one of the best song writers of this genaration. I think is he is up w/ Waits, Cohen, and Dylan. I know alot of people think Kurt was, but lets face it what the hell was he talking about half the time. I have no idea. I know something about him coming from a broken home or something. But when I discoverd Jawbreaker was when I discoverd hart break.

Dear You is easily one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time. I got this album in 1996 for my 16th birthday after seeing them two weeks before opening for the Foo Fighters. All I can say is that straight through this album is filled with great lyrics, amazing sonic assaults and some very contrasting chords. Jets To Brazil is a great band, but this album will always be my favorite work from Blake Schwarzenbach. Highlights are "Jet Black", "Sluttering (May 4th)" and....oh hell they're all good. The new pressing features bonus tracks not on the original release. "Friendly Fire" really should have been on the original pressing, it's killer. "Boxcar" is a revamp of a very popular song off 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (which is also an amazing album), "Shirt" is the only song I'm unsure of. There's a version of "Shirt" on their Live CD (which is very good also) but I was unaware of a studio version. And considering most of the bonus songs are on the Etc. b-side compilation maybe "Shirt" was intentioanlly left off Etc. to inspire hardcore fans to buy the Dear You CD again? Whatever the result is, Dear You is worth purchasing. Some call the CD emo, but Jawbreaker is really just a dark punk band. If this is "emo", then a lot of emo bands have truly missed the mark and should go back to school with this album.

"If you hear this [album] 100 times, it still won't be enough"

My friend got a copy of this album for me awhile back when it was still scarce and out of print. He writes a zine on the Chicago punk scene and some of the bands he likes can be a little much for me. So I popped this into my CD player with some reservation, wondering if it was going to be some piece of crap recorded out of some guy's garage. I could not have been more wrong. These songs represent the best of the alt/indie/punk/emo genre or whatever group you think they belong in. Their songs are well crafted, with interesting lyrics and solid musicianship. The songs are insidiously catchy; I will find myself singing them at random times. I admittedly don't know a ton about punk but if I had to compare this band to something I am familiar with, I would say Echo and the Bunnymen or maybe the Jesus and Mary Chain. At least that is who they reminded me of. I later found out that this band enjoys a sort of cult following, making the few copies of this album pretty expensive. After a few listens I can see why.

some people will say this was the "sell-out" album that Jawbreaker made, but those people are just in awe (read: jealous) of how great this album is. I'm so glad the band bought the record back from Geffen and re-released it. Now anyone can purchase one the best records of the 1995, 1996, 1997, etc...you get the idea. This seriously could be one of the only three albums i would take with me to my stranded island. After you get this record, go out and find the first Jets To Brazil album on Jade Tree "Orange Rhyming Dictionary." These two Blake/Jawbreaker/whatever albums are his best. This has been on my top ten albums of every year, really!

Jawbreaker's last and only major-label album is probably the most accessible to new listeners accustomed to the sound of modern production, because this is one of the records to which many present day mainstream pop-punk and emo bands owe their sound. The instruments have all been engineered to sound massive, Schwarzenbach's usually raspy vocals have been smoothed out and brought to the front of the mix, and the production is generally slicker than Jawbreaker's previous records. To many people, purists especially, this is a bad thing; at the time the album was met with apathy and disdain both for its apparent overproduction and major label backing. I think it makes Dear You a good starting point to introduce the aforementioned people to Jawbreaker.

What made them such a noteworthy band was always the songwriting, and the songwriting hasn't suffered at all in the transition to a major label. The melodies are more poppy and catchy than, say,

, but Blake Schwarzenbach's cleverly worded heart-on-sleeve lyricism remains present, Chris Bauermeister's bass is a bit more buried beneath layers of guitars but still remains the anchor of the melody and chord progressions as it fluidly weaves through the songs, and Adam Pfahler's drumming is still tight and driving as ever.

With time, old prejudices have largely died away and a sort of rediscovery of Dear You has emerged. It's too bad that it was never appreciated in its time, but better late than never. This is a record that doesn't deserve to be forgotten.