Jawbox (album)

Jawbox is the fourth album by Jawbox.[9][10] 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.

Jawbox
Studio album by Jawbox
Released	July 2, 1996 December 12, 2006 (iTunes)
Recorded	December 1995–March 1996
Studio	Water Studios (Hoboken, New Jersey)
Genre	Alternative rock, post-punk, post-hardcore
Length	47:46
Label	Atlantic/TAG (1996)[1] Desoto (re-release)
Producer	John Agnello and Jawbox[2]
Jawbox chronology
For Your Own Special Sweetheart (1994) Jawbox (1996)
Singles from Jawbox
"Absenter"/"Chinese Fork Tie" Released: 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[5]
Pitchfork Media	7.6/10[6]
Punknews.org	[7]
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5[8]

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.[2][11]

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."[2] Tiny Mix Tapes called the album "a masterpiece of driving, angular rock prowess."[12]

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. "J. Robbins walks us through Jawbox's 1996 swan song". Music.
2. "Jawbox". Trouser Press. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
3. "Jawbox - Jawbox". AllMusic.
4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Volume 4: MUZE. pp. 587–588.CS1 maint: location (link)
5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 596.
6. "Jawbox: Jawbox". Pitchfork Media.
7. "Jawbox - Jawbox". www.punknews.org.
8. "Review: Jawbox - Jawbox | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com.
9. "Jawbox Announces Reunion Tour After A Decade Away". NPR.org.
10. "Jawbox". EW.com.
11. Pettigrew, Jason (February 25, 2019). "Post-hardcore heroes Jawbox: "We've all been through enough things."".
12. "Music Review: Jawbox - Jawbox". Tiny Mix Tapes.