As we all spend May 4th, the unofficial Jawbreaker Day, sluttering, Lavasocks Records and Sell the Heart Records have released a track by track tribute to (for now) the band's final LP, 1995's Dear You. The release, titled Dear Who?, is available via Sell the Heart's subscription service, and on digital or limited edition vinyl also available through Lavasocks. The labels graciously granted TGEFM access to the entire tribute album for a track-by-track discussion. TGEFM staff and guest contributors joined in on this and, although you need to jump through a few hoops to hear it all, we agree that it is probably worth it.
(note- TGEFM received no compensation for this aside from the opportunity to listen to the album in full prior to release. Any recommendations or links to pick up a copy are provided of our own volition.)
Lousy Advice – “Save Your Generation”
Jeff Sorley (TGEFM founder and Head Editor): I'm going to preface this by saying that I like Lousy Advice. Maybe they are the “World's cutest band” (laughter). I'm just not sure how I feel about this cover.
I'm not entirely sure about the effect on the vocals at the intro but, thankfully, that goes away once the song kicks in. I guess I just feel kind of let down by the drumroll building up at the intro and my adrenaline started notching up and I thought to myself “this is gonna E·X·P·L·O·D·E on me” and then… it didn't. After that the song plays it pretty close to the original with some interesting changes. Guitarist/vocalist Shelby Murray adds some vocal flourishes to the song that I found enjoyable, but I can imagine that there's a segment of the audience who likely won't. The drums add a bit to the original but, overall, this one just kinda worked for me.
Bill Bulman (Jawbreaker superfan): I didn't know Lousy Advice before this. But love her voice. It was a little off putting though, as the first song on a tribute to a very guitar-centric album that means so much to me. Obviously the sound quality makes it less “anthemy”, but Rob (Cavallo) over produced the original so much.
Is her voice too monotone, for what is a angst driven song? While monotone, it somewhat feels fresh as she sounds young and with the current craziness of the world, I think she does need to “save her generation”.
Overall, I liked this song, and need to explore Lousy Advice more. Was it so explosive as the original “Save…” was? No. Is that good? Yes. Because as it was not so explosive, I was able to focus more on the lyrics. Can I just state Blake is such a damn great poet. And his lyrics sung by a woman 1/2 his age sounds exquisite…
So I am being a nerd and listening to each of these tracks back to back with the original and it's fun. I will leave some deeper thoughts about most of the cover band's being fronted by women for later, but it brings an interesting perspective to what is quite frankly a it of a “bro-y” album. I wonder did the band have anything to do with who was in on the covers, as I know they have had primarily female-led bands open for them during the post Riot Fest tours.
But back to Lousy Advice: was she singing through a megaphone? That elicits thoughts of protests to me, which for this song, seems fitting.
Jeff: Oh, for me it's not that the song was “less explosive” than the original (which, in my opinion, due to big budget overproduction I think had a lot of its soul sapped from the songs), it's just that the rolling drums build up to something that didn't pay off.
I can see what you're saying about the monotone thing, although I don't think it's entirely accurate. There are parts where Shelby twists and somersaults through the vocal delivery in unexpected ways to great affect, but there are parts where she decides to carry the note too long (the “Alllllllllll” part comes to mind).
This comes up often whenever we cover these tribute albums, but a cover song should make you want to hear it again as a companion piece to the original, not make you just want to go back to the original and, even after a few listens, I'm still not sure that this song accomplishes that. I think I'm a hung jury on this one. (laughter)
Dan Rice (TGEFM contributor): After the first listen I also was a hung jury on this one, but after a few more plays I like this version. I'm not crazy about the beginning vocal effects but the rest of the vocals have some interesting notes and overall I liked them. I like they gave it their own feel, with more vocals and drum focus over the original, at least that's how it sounds to me.
Tim Allen (guest contributor, musician): I know I'm alone in this, but I actually really like both the production and performance of the vocals on this one, I feel like she emotes just enough to make it feel like she actually likes the song without totally abandoning the vocal melody (which, let's be fair, Blake wasn't the most flexible vocalist by this point anyway). The rest of the production helps a ton too – there's a lot of little touches that bring it more in line with how modern DIY/indie-punk sounds (the surprise gang vocals, the more upfront and frantic drumming). It kinda makes this feel like it's an “HD remaster” of the original song, where it's still the song you remember without a lot done to mess with it (as a fairly iconic album opener), but done in a way that makes it fit in better with the directions the genre went in since then.
Jeremy Judy (goes contributor, musician): Minus the vocals, which I found a tad shrill and distracting and an interesting drum fill at the end of the bridge, this is pretty darn close to the original, including the drum production.
I don't find anything particularly memorable about this version, I think Lousy Advice performed a fitting tribute that serves nicely as an opening track.
Strangers – “I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both”
Bill: While the original is one of my favorite bangers, Stranger's version of “I Love You So Much It Is Killing Us Both” is a totally different take on the song, and after listening a few times , the best way to describe it is haunting.
Dan: I read Bill's comments before listening to this one (which I don't normally do) and after he described it as haunting I was very excited to hear this, it didn't disappoint. I wouldn't say it was haunting, but this is a completely different direction for this song. The singer has a nice voice and I think that's a mandolin guitar? It was interesting and unexpected.
Bill: Interesting.. I watched it in between plays of the original and thought it was very cool… (editor's note- when Bill received his preview copy of the album, he was flying to the PNW to see Jawbreaker on their string of Seattle/Portland dates… all three nights)
Jeff: Show off. (laughter)
Jeremy: I found the most interesting and enjoyable part of this cover to be the instrument choices. (Ukulele and xylophone/glockenspiel?). Although, it is well performed, I don't feel like there was anything here begging for a repeat listen.
Tim: I was pleasantly surprised by how mellow this was considering how the original really leaned on the angst, but I think it still works in delivering the intent behind the lyrics (particularly with how upfront the vocals are). It sounds like it would work great in a trailer for a movie or a TV show since they still love slow, moody covers of existing songs, but I don't mean that as a bad thing.
Middle-Aged Queers – “Fireperson”
This track is one of two made available at the time of the posting of this discussion.
Jeremy: This is probably my favorite song on this album. Middle-Aged Queers' musical take is darker and more dissonant than the original and the vocal delivery during the verses has a New Wave feel that compliments this version very well.
The chorus' lose a bit of intensity and command when the vocalist switches to a forced sounding ‘Unfun' era Blake delivery and the drum fills sound loose and unintentional; but, the chorus' are quick and the song easily jumps right back into gear.
I found the lyrical changes and improvisation (“Dreamed we never came out…” “If I was a vampire, I wouldn't suck your WHAT?” “What's up with the donkey?”) a bit corny and the shtick unnecessary for such a killer cover, but that hasn't kept me from coming back for more.
Jeff: I enjoy it a lot, too. But I think I have to push back on the “corny” part a bit. Whether or not they'd agree, Middle-Aged Queers definitely lean into “corniness” at points or, to put it another way, they're very self-aware and have no compunctions about just having fun with what they're doing. The fact that the vocal delivery during the verses is so post-punk/moody, but with some goofy changes to the lyrics, just makes it that much more precious.
In regards to the Unfun-era chorus, yeah, I see what you're saying. But (spoiler alert) as we hear later on with Heavy Seas' “Lurker II”, I find it fascinating that 1) some bands have (consciously or not) played these songs, or portions of, in emulation of an earlier version of Jawbreaker, and 2) that these parts come off so surprisingly well (for me, at least).
Jeremy: Sure, but going into it not knowing anything of the band, assessing the product at face value, and only knowing the original, do you think you would still like the added lines?….ahhh, you're a middle-aged pop punk fan, so there's something loose in your wiring anyway. (laughter)
Comparing all the tracks on this compilation to the originals, I've found that although many emulate the originals in sound, or borrow from Jawbreaker's style throughout their catalog, the majority are lacking in dynamics, which is what makes the originals and Jawbreaker so different than all the others. For what I love about Jawbreaker, the majority of these songs miss the mark for me, but I'm looking to accentuate the positives and still be honest.
Jeff: “ahhh, you're a middle-aged pop punk fan, so there's something loose in your wiring anyway”Ouch, bite the hand that feeds! (laughter)
Yeah, I'd probably still find it funny. I cut my teeth on M.O.D. and The Dead Milkmen, so I defo appreciate the less-serious side of punk rock. Plus, what else would you expect from a band called Middle-Aged Queers?!? (laughter)
Jeremy: Touché. It just feels out of place for the overall tone of the song.
Kinda like doing a Presidential address, peppered with dick jokes, throughout.
Jeff: So.. the Trump administration? (laughter)
Tim: This one was totally fine for me – I was kinda surprised how reverent the music was given the changes in lyrics (which I'm fine with even if it does play with the intent/meaning of the original more than you'd expect). I also agree with the new-wavey-ness of the vocals, but that's still sorta in Jawbreaker's wheelhouse since the band has mentioned in the past that Blake would get compared to the guy from Psychedelic Furs a bunch. I guess I just appreciate how they could have some fun with it without turning it into one of those awful 2000s pop-punk ‘joke covers' we used to get all the time.
badvril – “Accident Prone”
Jeremy: Instrumentally, this version reminds me of Pinback and vocally of Catherine Wheel. The instrumentation feels a bit stiff, but I do enjoy the atmosphere this version creates. Arguably, the original being the most dynamic track off of Dear You, Badvrill had some big shoes to fill, but unfortunately fell a bit short.
Although this cover has layers for miles, it lacks the dramatic tension and release of the original and at five minutes, feels much too long for what it has to offer.
Dan: This version felt longer and slowed down over the original but it's actually shorter. I agree it was a bit long for what it had to offer, just needed a little more spunk for me.
Tim: Jeremy nailed it with the Pinback comparison, I also felt like it sounded a little bit like the Weakerthans‘ more mellow material, particularly in production and guitar tone. Probably didn't need to be as long, but I feel like it does a great job at sort of evoking a mood without the same sort of catch-and-release tension the original offered – which honestly was probably the right decision, since a lot of people claim this as their favorite song on the album and it would be a losing venture to just do a more straightforward cover.
Jeff: I really like how this one landed. You can tell it's the same song, but through a completely different lens. This is the version that my old roommate Garen would've been blaring on the stereo at 3am back in 1998. I also appreciate that there are points where the music is close to a cacophony of overlapping noise, all of the instruments almost drowning each other out while the vocals carry on as if nothing is different. There's a lack of emotion in the vocal delivery that actually makes it much more resonant.
Nobody's Baby – “Chemistry”
Jeremy: I really dig Nobody's Baby's take on this one. The sultry lounge/surf feel of the verses moves at a nice, measured pace and breaks into a chorus that sounds straight off of Hole's ‘Celebrity Skin' album. Possibly nostalgia, but I was definitely feeling this one.
Dan: I am also really feeling this one. I get kind of a grunge/surf vibe. The vocals are great, the surf guitar riffs sound cool, and drum heavy breaks are kick ass!
Tim: Speaking as someone who considers “Chemistry” their favorite track on the original, this was not even remotely what I expected and I think it's all the better for it. It's almost like an ironic Nancy Sinatra take on it, and it actually works to evoke the bitterness of the verses a bit more even if it loses some of the more emotional, bittersweet qualities the original got across.
Jeff: I was searching for a descriptor and “sultry lounge/surf feel” is about as accurate as anything I can come up with.
This song always rubbed me the wrong way. Not that it is a bad song, but by the time it came out the band are in their late-20s, and I'm suspicious that Blake wrote a song about the trials of high school relationships of his own volition. I could be wrong.
Still, this cover rocks. Kudos Nobody's Baby.
sweeties – “Oyster”
Jeremy: I know nothing about this/these artist(s), but based solely upon this cover, sweeties has to be the most fitting name I have ever heard.
This is the audible version of downing Pixie Stix while watching videos of kittens playing.
If that's your thing, you are absolutely going to love this adorable take of the original. If it isn't, well…
Jeff: For my 18th birthday in high school my friend, Jason, who worked at White Hen, got me an entire container of Pixie Stix… not the little ones, the huge, wide plastic straw ones. I was… not well… that night.
Dan: That is a great description Jeremy! This is a very sweet version and sweeties picked a good song for this style. Pixie Stix might make me a little hyper for this song, maybe some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows but definitely the kitten videos.
Tim: Not to piggyback too much on the previous convos, but honestly that sweetness makes me like this song more if that makes sense? “Oyster” is absolutely the song on the original I skip the most, but the sort of bright gentleness this version offers actually made me appreciate the lyrics a lot more than I did prior, and I appreciate the blended instrumentation on this one
Keira – “Million”
Brendan Hayes (occasional TGEFM contributor): This is probably my favorite song on Dear You, so I absolutely jumped to this song first. There is something about the instrumentation that just feels right. There is enough of the original present in the music to scratch the itch as it were; however, it's the changes Keira opts to include that give it a really fresh feel. Keria's version is more up tempo. The drums and bass seem more present in the mix, which is largely what adds to the new feel of the song. The breakdown to acoustic later in the song provides a further twist, which makes the song feel more unique to the band.
The vocals are initially more than a little jarring. Undoubtedly, this is the result of years of hearing Blake's voice, but hearing her higher pitched vocals threw me off more than a little. After some time, about halfway through the opening verse, the vocals felt more natural with the song, but the difference in vocal approaches never fully settled in for me. This is something that I will have to listen again to more fully appreciate her vocals with this song.
Jeff: How a lot of these songs have been interpreted/re-intrepreted has been interesting to hear but, I'm being frank, I love what Keira did with this. The layered guitars and the upbeat tempo was a surprise that I welcome. I can see how the vocal delivery can be a shock to the system, but it adds to the odd dreamy quality, which is only magnified when the song picks up. It's a weird delivery throughout, but one can't say that the band hewed too close to the original.
Jeremy: If I had to sum up this track in one word, “ambitious” would be my pick.
Practically every part of this arrangement is different than the original. Within the first verse, we are introduced to a vocal effect that conjures an image of Kristen Schaal singing through a vocoder, a distorted, double time drum beat in the bridge and a slinky, impromptu guitar lead that is not included in the original.
The song drops a false ending after the second verse, to come back into an acoustic bridge that, due to odd timing, felt out of place and possibly a production afterthought. The second half of the song adopts more of a Pop Punk feel, with a bouncier bass line and features a more technical guitar solo layered into the mix. The intro riff is played again and ends with a keyboard swell.
While I appreciate the musical range Keira is able to cover, within this track, it feels a bit forced and, ultimately, the arrangement collapses under its own weight. With that said, I found it to be one of the more enjoyable tracks on this tribute album.
Dan: This was ambitious and I think Keira pulled it off. The surprise acoustic bridge was great, the second half guitar additions really took you a cool ride of a song. I'm really digging this one.
Jeff: So, this is a first, but I was so curious about this track that I, well… for lack of a better word… tracked down the artist (thanks Andy Pohl!). I wanted to know more about what she did for this, and what was brought to the table. Turns out Keira is a solo artist, playing guitar and bass. The drums are from a digital set that's available. If I had to hazard a guess, this is a one-person operation and, if that's the case, I give even more kudos.
Tim: I frankly thought this one was fantastic. In a weird way it's almost the perfect cover, where it does something to make it stand out for people who have heard the original without totally shifting genre or making it unrecognizable – that approach isn't BAD by any means, but I feel like this one is an ideal balance of “hey here's a song you already know” vs. “I had some fun rearranging this song you already knew”. The guitar work impressed the heck out of me, and their voice is wonderful and adds a neat sort of counterpoint to the more frantic music.
Jeremy: Aww, Jeff. I wish you hadn't gone digging. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the “throw everything against the wall” style of this track; I envisioned a band comprised of folks coming from a variety of musical backgrounds and tastes, working together to bang out an interesting cover. The erratic nature of the song feels less charming to me, now.
Heavy Seas – “Lurker II”
Jeff: Heavy Seas is one of, like, three million bands that Jeff Dean (Airstream Futures, The Bomb, etc.) is in. He's a guy who knows music and how to compose it and/or adapt it. So, surprisingly, they play this song off fairly straight, just as a punkier/noisier version of the original.
BUT, and this is a big but, I like this version a lot because it sounds a lot like how “Lurker II” would've sounded if it was on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, or how Jawbreaker would've played it live back in the early-90s. It is noisy, the vocals are rough and, I feel like I may be beating a dead horse here, there's an energy that's missing from the original studio version. I mean, for those of us who were at the their 1992 McGregors show or, really, anyone who saw them in their earlier days, THIS SONG could've been in that set.
Jeremy: If you told me that Heavy Seas' cover was really the Jawbreaker demo version, I wouldn't push back, too hard.
The overblown, distorted production choice and the flat vocal delivery support a rehearsal room, demo quality sound and, in my opinion, are the most interesting parts of this cover.
This is a just fine cover of a Jawbreaker song, done by obvious jawbreaker fans. Nothing more nothing less.
Dan: I also felt this one was pretty straight forward. It did have a little more of a raw/ live feel, especially the drums. I did like the vocals and overall is was good, but not great for me.
Tim: Jeff kinda summed it up for me – this version of the song sounds like it was originally performed by some grunge-adjacent band that was around at the same time Jawbreaker originally was, and they came out with a lower-budget earlier version. It's the Jawbreaker equivalent of how “Hey Jealousy” was recorded twice and there's a HUGE difference between them, except it was a totally separate band.
TULPA LUNA – “Jet Black”
Dan: This one had kind of an Echo and the Bunnymen with femme vocals feel to it for me and I liked it. I also liked how they did their own version of the Christopher Walken samples.
Tim: I like how this one is a lot more ambient – the intense reverb kind of adds to the despair even if the guitar part isn't much different, and the vocals are mixed perfectly to add to the overall vibe (especially when the drums drop out during the pre-chorus build up parts). Kinda sounds like a version of Cocteau Twins you can actually understand, just given how everything sits so close to each other in the mix.
Jeremy: Out of all of the covers performed on this album, Tulpa Luna and “Jet Black” just feels like the most obvious pairing.
Dramatic and deliberate. I could have done without the redone Walken/Annie Hall part, but I understand why it needs to be in there.
While I feel like the production didn't quite offer the push and pull and swelling dynamic components of the original; the female vocals and gothic/industrial tone of this version are an extremely fresh take on the beloved original.
Tim: ^^ okay I am glad someone brought up the Walken dialogue, I feel like it could've been excised without losing a lot but maybe I'm overthinking it
Sarchasm – “Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault”
Tim: Good, if not anything too revolutionary. Love how the lead guitar line is handled, vocal performance is good, ending is a little less abrupt but still fun. They do a better job covering it than my last band did, so.
Dan: I thought it was a good cover too, nothing too special about it for me, I liked vocals as well.
Jeff: I've alluded to this here, and elsewhere in (at least, digital) print, but as much as I am NOT a fan of Steve Albini's ham-fisted handling of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, at least it sounded a bit like the Jawbreaker I knew. Now, I don't know enough to make this claim definite, but I did, and always have, found the “clean” sound of Dear You simply out of character, and stinks too much of major label fingers.
With that in mind, “Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault” doesn't bother me as much, from a sonic standpoint, as other tracks on the album. But Sarchasm brings out a bit more angst and, dare I say it, humor in the song that Blake's laid-back vocals seem to lack in the original. The original is a bit of an outlier with it's catchy guitar fills, and Sarchasm replicate that and, maybe, even make it more fun.
I think the only thing Sarchasm is missing in their version is the major label budget (and input) and, frankly, it's to their benefit.
Jeremy: Aside from the one, two pop punch of “Indictment” and “Boxcar” on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, I never really considered Jawbreaker to be a pop punk band and found those songs a bit corny and out of character. This original track felt like number three, being one of my least favorite on Dear You.
So, unfortunately, this song had one strike against it going into this review.
For better, or worse, the vocal style “bubble gummed” up this one, even more; but essentially, Sarchasm did a fine job of covering this song in a straight forward fashion.
Danger Inc. – “Sluttering (May 4th)”
Tim: Fantastic vocal performance and well-mixed. Super loud drums and bass makes the song feel a little more propulsive at times compared to the guitar-driven original. Nothing too distinct from the original, but it's my second favorite on the original album after “Chemistry” so I wouldn't have wanted it to be too different in the first place.
Dan: I am digging this one, I also thought the vocals are great, love the way they mic'd or mixed the drums too, everything sounded great.
Jeff: “Sluttering…” is my favorite song on the original album. I thought it was, musically, one of the better composed songs, and I could imagine the song through what was actually presented.
On that note, I think that some of the minor differences seem to propel this cover into something different, although it really isn't really that different. The vocals, which are a lot more expressive, work well for me, although I can see why they may not be for some. Danger Inc. is selling something here and, you know what, I'm buying.
The way they end the song works well, and propels the emotion further than the original.
Jeremy: I like the subtle arrangement changes. The slight pauses and drop outs add a little bit of character, although I felt like the technique was used a bit too much near the end of the track, killing the momentum. The vocalist's voice and style reminded me of Discount; which I've always enjoyed.
Jonah Matranga – “Basilica”
This track is one of two made available at the time of the posting of this discussion.
Jeremy: Upon first listen, I was ready to pass Jonah Mantranga's version of ‘Basilica' off as just another acoustic cover; not unlike the hundreds found scattered across YouTube.
However, I am glad that I did return for another listen, as I have found it to be one of the more memorable tracks off of this album.
The delicate and vulnerable vocal delivery, coupled with the fingerpicked guitar line deliver an effective performance that, dare I say, evokes more emotion from this listener than even the near perfect original.
Jeff: I'd agree. At first one would suspect that Jonah went the safe route here, but I think he's got a good ear for doing interesting things with his covers (see his version of “Suggestion” from the recent Fugazi tribute album), and there is much more here than some cookie cutter acoustic version. There's a lot of depth to it, and he trims out the lengthy outro of the original, turning this into a beautiful, and compact piece of music.
Tim: At first I was surprised at how…oddly fast this was? Not anywhere near as fast as most of this album, but it felt kind of hurried at times. The breathy vocals and gentle fingerpicking work very well with the original chord progression even if it doesn't quite get across the same emotional turmoil due to the lack of Big Muff on all the guitars. Still, good enough that if I didn't know the original I could totally listen to this on its own.
Dan: I also after the first listen was going to skip this one but then after I read the comments I felt I needed to give it another play. I pretty much agree with what's already been mentioned and I especially agree that Jonah really brings out the emotion on this one. The original is not one of my favorite songs on the album but I liked this version more than I was expecting too.
Preschool – “Untitled”
Jeremy: Let me start by saying the original version of “Untiltled” always felt like a throw away song that, for whatever reason, was just tacked onto the end of the album. This was annoying, but later became downright infuriating when learning tracks like the blistering ‘Sister' and even the redone ‘Boxcar' existed; later to be released on the ‘Etc.' album.
The tone and lyrical content didn't feel right on this album, and in hindsight, makes perfect sense when Jets to Brazil emerged, not too long afterward.
Phew! OK, with all of that out of my system, my big rant comes around to the point: Preschool took a lemon of a song and made perfectly good lemonade.
Adding light percussion (kick and finger cymbals(?)) and a subdued and somewhat melancholy, beautiful vocal performance that simultaneously adds a touch of flare, while staying pretty true to the original; this is one track I would rather listen to, over the original.
Jeff: We park our cars in the same garage.
This track seemed so tacked on that it SCREAMED major label influence. Because that's what they wanted bands to do at that time.
I'll admit, though, I never thought about it in the context of the subsequent Blake project Jets to Brazil and, with that in mind well… shit… what you say makes a lot of sense.
Circling back around to Preschool's version of the song, it plays out like the non-acoustic version version we were hoping for, but with a twist: still pretty mellow, and has a bit of jingle-jangle we didn't expect. I think the vocals may be a bit too melancholy, but what're you going to do with the source material if you aren't going to turn it into a punk banger? Preschool did good to this song.
Jeremy: I always thought the lyrics on this one were so cornball and on the nose, which wasn't his particular style; although “bad scene…” and to a point, “Oyster” show elements of that poppier side.
I can see the label wanting to throw an untitled track, or the more popular “hidden” track in there, but given the other songs they already had in the can; I wonder who really pushed for this to be the track.
Yeah, the obvious choice by a most others would have been to “Jawbreaker up” this songs. I'm not familiar with any of their other stuff, so i have nothing to compare to how close/far this is from their own style, but I thought Preschool did a very tasteful version; which I think, although interesting, a lot of these artists dropped the ball.
Tim: The beginning of this almost got something out of a laugh out of me – the weird twangy guitar and Ronettes-style drum part seemed out of left field, but they're great ways to have fun with a song that's always been sort of a throwaway, even if Jawbreaker used to play it live at the time. The guitar part almost makes more sense played on an electric, and the drums stop it from being so meandering.
Dan: The original is one that I am fine skipping, like everyone said, it's a little out of place. This version however I thought was pretty good. I liked the weird twangy guitar and what I think is a Tambourine? Everything with the drums mixed well together.
Final Thoughts
Dan: This album has a decent amount of variety but doesn't stray too far from what you would expect from a Jawbreaker tribute. It had a few peaks and valleys for me but nothing too crazy. There's a handful of songs that I would listen to again and others that I may not. For the hardcore Jawbreaker fan the full album might be worth adding to your collection and for the casual fan you may want to pick and choose a few. I lean more towards the latter myself.
(Dan is a TGEFM contributor. In his free time he is also a mechanical designer, and owner/operator of REC MX custom motocross parts.)
Jeff: This is the only Jawbreaker tribute I've heard except for the early-00s Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault and, while that album may have had some bigger acts, it was still hit or miss. I think nearly 30 years later, I've come to grips with my general dislike of the original album, not always because of the songs themselves (although sometimes, yes), but because it smells too much of forced commodification. While I may not enjoy all of these covers, I can really appreciate the effort that went into them, and appreciate how these artists see, and interpret, the tracks after all of this time.
(Jeff is the founder/head editor of TGEFM. When not doing this, he spends his time drawing as Asplenia Studios.)
Jeremy: Be it casual or diehard Jawbreaker fan, chances are sheer curiosity will get the better of you and you'll be spinning this one, at least once.
Right out of the gate, let me tell you that I didn't find one bad song on this album. Sure, it certainly helps that the source material is virtually flawless; but there wasn't one utterly unlistenable track on this, which I cannot say about the majority of compilations and tributes I've heard.
Now, this doesn't mean that every track is necessarily good, either. Out of the thirteen tracks, I found five that stood out from the others. The majority of the pack feeling more like hastily prepared covers, played way too close to the vest to warrant a repeat listen. The ones that stood out, for better or worse:
KEIRA's “throw everything at the wall” arrangement of ‘Million'. NOBODY'S BABY's lounge/surf version of ‘Chemistry'. SWEETIES' sickeningly sweet interpretation of ‘Oyster'. TULPA LUNA's darker than the original ‘Jet Black' and the hauntingly most memorable for me, JONAH MATRANGA's vulnerable, yet powerful stripped down take on ‘Basilica'.
All swung for the fences, by making each song their own, and spiced up what could have been an otherwise vanilla punk inspired cover album.
(Jeremy is a musician, currently “banging and yelling” for Arizona's Redoubt, whose most recent single, “Marv's Medicine”, was released on 08 Feb 2022.)
Tim: The album is fun enough, and it's always nice to see the influence a band like Jawbreaker can have on even artists not as obviously influenced by the scene they came up in, but at the end of the day tribute albums are largely just an excuse for people to have fun playing songs they've heard a million times. Luckily, the enthusiasm for the material is present and infectious enough among nearly every track on here to make you enjoy the time you spent listening to it, even if you're more likely to return to the actual “Dear You” the next time you want to hear any of these songs.
That said, if anyone out there is putting together a Jets to Brazil tribute album and wants my band to contribute a track, I would be delighted to.
(Tim is an occasional TGEFM contributor, a pop culture aficionado, musician and guitarist/vocalist for Michigan's Bathroom of the Future. Their new EP, Maclunkey, is due out Tuesday, 11 May 2022 via Laptop Punk Records)