| Jawbox | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 2, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | December 1995–March 1996 | |||
| Studio | Water Studios (Hoboken, New Jersey) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:46 | |||
| Label | Atlantic/TAG (1996)[5] Desoto (re-release) | |||
| Producer | John Agnello and Jawbox[6] | |||
| Jawbox chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Jawbox | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
| MusicHound Rock |  [9] |
| NME | 7/10[10] |
| Pitchfork | 7.6/10[2] |
| Punknews.org | [1] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes |  [4] |
Jawbox is the fourth and most recent album by American post-hardcore band Jawbox.[11] The album was released by TAG Recordings, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. In the months following the album's release, the band was dropped from TAG and thus from Atlantic.
The album is much more commercial than its predecessor, For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Music videos were produced for the tracks "Mirrorful" and Tori Amos cover "Cornflake Girl," with the latter being a hidden track. The cover became a surprise (albeit minor) hit in the alternative and college radio scene, thus the video was filmed. The cover was omitted from the album's 2015 LP reissue. Along with those two tracks, promotional singles were also created for "Absenter" and "His Only Trade."
It was Jawbox's final studio album before disbanding in 1997.[6][12]
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote: "Moody, driven and downbeat (save for the occasional sanguine moment, like the rousing 'Excandescent'), Jawbox is a work of integrity and passion from a pop band that refuses to write pop songs."[6] Tiny Mix Tapes called the album "a masterpiece of driving, angular rock prowess."[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jawbox, except for "Cornflake Girl," written by Tori Amos
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mirrorful" | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Livid" | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Iodine" | 3:35 |
| 4. | "His Only Trade" | 1:58 |
| 5. | "Chinese Fork Tie" | 2:29 |
| 6. | "Won't Come Off" | 2:46 |
| 7. | "Excandescent" | 4:25 |
| 8. | "Spoiler" | 2:28 |
| 9. | "Desert Sea" | 3:05 |
| 10. | "Empire of One" | 2:48 |
| 11. | "Mule/Stall" | 1:56 |
| 12. | "Nickle Nickle Millionaire" | 2:35 |
| 13. | "Capillary Life" | 3:22 |
| 14. | "Absenter" ("Absenter" ends at 3:10; the hidden track "Cornflake Girl" begins at 5:02) | 9:22 |
Personnel
Jawbox
- J. Robbins - vocals, guitar, Hammond organ
- Bill Barbot - guitar, Hammond organ, saxophone, vocals
- Kim Coletta - bass, vocals
- Zach Barocas - drums
Production
- John Agnello - producer, engineer, mixing
- Wayne Dorrell, Juan Garcia, Jeff Gatens - assistant engineers
- Jason Farrell - cover art
References
- 1 2 "Jawbox - Jawbox". www.punknews.org.
- 1 2 Howe, Brian (September 23, 2015). "Jawbox: Jawbox". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
- 1 2 Hajari, Nisid (July 26, 1996). "Jawbox". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- 1 2 3 Willcoma (October 31, 2014). "Music Review: Jawbox - Jawbox". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ↑ "J. Robbins walks us through Jawbox's 1996 swan song". Music.
- 1 2 3 "Jawbox". Trouser Press. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
- ↑ "Jawbox - Jawbox". AllMusic.
- ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. pp. 587–588.
- ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 596.
- ↑ Goldsmith, Mike (July 29, 1996). "Jawbox - jawbox". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Jawbox Announces Reunion Tour After A Decade Away". NPR.org.
- ↑ Pettigrew, Jason (February 25, 2019). "Post-hardcore heroes Jawbox: "We've all been through enough things."".