Jawbox For Your Own Special Sweetheart (Desto/Dischord)
5/5
By: Stephen Maughan
Sixteen years ago, Valentines 1994 to be precise, this Washington DC emo punk band (some call them post hardcore punk, but I'm sticking with punk) released For Your Own Special Sweetheart. The simple fact is it is one of a few records from the 1990's that seemed to define an era – the emergence of emo at the height of the grunge explosion. Jawbox had just signed to a major record label, Atlantic, in doing so they dumped the Ian MacKaye-headed label Discord. This caused quite some controversy, with many of their original fans crying “sell-out” – still, it did give them the chance to expand their fanbase and have their songs featured heavily on MTV. Many a jaded music writer has attempted to write some kind of informed history of this fascinating period, mostly without success, which featured so many bands full of energy and ideas that exploded after the commercial success of Nirvana's 1991 global hit Nervermind.
This reissue of the third Jawbox album, without a doubt their greatest achievement, comes on the back of a sort of resurgence in interest for emo bands. Sunny Day Real Estate, perhaps the greatest band from this era, have recently reformed, and even Chicago legends Cap'n'Jazz have got together for a short reunion tour this summer.
The real question is how does FYOSS sound sixteen years on, and for those who missed it at the original time, is it worth picking up? Well sit down, boy - what you have here is truly one of the great records from the 1990's, jam packed with a delicious combination of beauty, noise, and melody. The hit single at the time, 'Savory', remains the highlight from their back catalogue, a masterpiece in song construction with layers upon layers of glorious guitar undertones, with a simple lyric and a sense of urgency and glory few, if any, bands of today can equal.
The real delight of FYOSS is the way Jawbox crafted every song as a unique piece of music, exciting and intimate. This record seemed to sum up what emo was meant to be about before it got hijacked by popular culture (look away, Dashboard Confessional) – Jawbox were about energy, dreams, tension, swirling guitars, noise, feedback, but – and this is what really defined it – catchy, and with poetic heartfelt lyrics. Let's take 'Savory' again (hell, it is the best song here) - “Hey angel, consider your position afraid to be consumed – Savory, Savory, your sympathy”. You want something more relevant, how about 'Breath' – “It's election time, letting every insult be accepted into history.”
Jawbox, and particularly FYOSS, summed up everything that was fresh and relevant about music in the 1990's, and anyone with even the slightest passing interest in the evolution of indie rock music at the time should pick this up. And if you don't own any Jets to Brazil (the band lead singer Blake Schwarzenbach formed after Jawbox split up in 1996) then you might as well check them out too. Simply, this is one of those essential albums that should belong in your collection.
Note - Schwarzenbach went on to “star” in a breakfast cereal comic and currently teaches English at Hunter College in New York.
Artists in this article: Jawbox
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