Jawbox
albums
Bill Barbot - Guitar, Vocals
Kim Coletta - Bass
Zach Barocas - Drums
Best Album: For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Biggest Influences: Fugazi, Mission of Burma, Sonic Youth
1994
For Your Own Special Sweetheart - 7/8
Let's get it out of the way: this band sounds a lot like Fugazi. Not in a derivative way though, just like
Nirvana might sound like Pixies or Talking Heads and Pere Ubu sound alike. I mean the guitar work is
great, it is very true to punk music, and tries to make a lot of points about various topics. These are just
similarities, i mean this band has its own sound once you get used to it, and songs like "Breathe" and
"Chicago Piano" are really good blasts of rock n' roll. What makes an album like this great, by that i mean
something that takes a long time to assimilate, is if it is consistent and not too overpowering in its length.
Does it change pace? "Savory", "Cooling Card", and "U Trau" are more accessible than the other songs
at first, though they are not necessarily the best. The album is pretty intense, so it requires a certain kind
of mood. Some of the songs are more traditional than others, "Green Grass" and "Whitney Walks" to be
sure. "Cruel Swing" is not the best song ever, but it works because it shows some humor it making a fake
kind of swing song. "Reel" is not that good of a song, period. But that is all the negative I could say.
Opener "FF=66", thrashing "LS/MFT" and "Jackpot Plus", "Motorist", most of these songs are great
examples of intense punk rock. The album is fairly short at 40 minutes, but the music is so complex it feels
more like an hour, which can be viewed as a good or bad thing, the listener must decide. In my opinion,
this is a great hard rock album, and I'm tempted to hear more from this band. - Trevor e.y.
1.ff=66- 4
2.savory- 4
3.breathe- 4
4.motorist- 4
5.ls/mft- 4
6.cooling card- 4
7.green grass- 2
8.cruel swing- 3
9.jackpot plus- 4
10.chicago piano- 4
11.real- 2
12.u trau- 4
13.whitney walks- 2
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