Jawbreaker - "Jet Black" (1995)

Jawbreaker was one of the most influential bands of the mid 90s emo/punk movement. Countless current bands cite Jawbreaker’s final album, 1995’s Dear You as a favorite and an influence. I’m ashamed to say that I was largely unfamiliar with Jawbreaker until last year when I came across a live recording of Brand New front man Jesse Lacey covering the Jawbreaker song “Accident Prone.” I loved his version and decided to check out the original. I was pleased with what I heard and I kicked myself for not checking out Jawbreaker sooner. I’ve read that that Dear You is the band’s most polished effort, with previous albums having lower production quality and raspier vocals from front man Blake Schwarzenbach. If you ask me, the production on Dear You is still a little rough around the edges but I suppose it gives the album a certain charm. Today’s song is another fantastic one from that album. “Jet Black” begins and ends with spoken word samples of Christopher Walken’s deranged character from the Woody Allen classic Annie Hall. To me the ending is one of the best combinations of spoken words and music that I’ve heard. Post Jawbreaker, Schwarzenbach went on to form the band Jets to Brazil, who have also been a notable influence on the current scene. Dear You was recently reissued on Blackball Records with five bonus tracks.


Jawbreaker - "Jet Black"