With Schwarzenbach on guitar and vocals, Bauermeister on bass, and Pfahler on drums, the band gained recognition in the late eighties and early nineties for their melodic yet driven sound built on the foundation for Schwarzenbach's poignant, bleeding-heart lyrics and signature rasp.
The band's first full-length release Unfun was put out by Shredder in 1990. On this, the band stuck close to the sound coming out of their contemporaries in the nascent pop punk scene in their sound, with the exception of Bauermeister's prominent bass lines and Schwarzenbach's lyrics, at times walking the line of the melodramatic.
Unfun was followed by Bivouac on Tupelo/Communion in 1992. Bivouac proved thicker and darker - both thematically and melodically - yet served to elevate the band above a crowd of previously similar acts. This more ambitious release also artfully used pieces of found-audio, in what was becoming one of the band's signatures, weaving it in and out of the ten minute title track, "Bivouac."
Their third release, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, produced by the ubiquitous Steve Albini, unveiled a sparse pop-punk with more carefully crafted lyrics. This album also holds what has become arguably their best known song, "Boxcar."
Jawbreaker had seemed poised for critical and commercial success by the time of their fourth, and last album, Dear You. Despite a vigorous marketing push, Jawbreaker's album sales were anemic in the wake of a post-Green Day market, and was one of the causes leading to the end of the band's career in 1996.
The group recently reacquired the rights to Dear You and have successfully put the long out-of-print album back into circulation on Pfahler's label, Blackball Records.
The band's cult status as the definitive nineties proto-pop-punk band has grown since its breakup, and songs like "Kiss the Bottle" and "Jet Black" are referenced as influences by bands such as Sparta, Lucero, and Rocky Votolato. In 2003, a Jawbreaker tribute album, Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault was released on Dying Wish Records, and featured covers by 18 bands including Fall Out Boy, Nerf Herder, Sparta, and Face To Face.
Singer Blake Schwarzenbach went on to form the New York City-based band Jets to Brazil, who have also since broken up, and is now an adjunct English professor at Hunter College (CUNY). In the fall of 2008, he debuted his new band, Thorns of Life, formed with Aaron Cometbus of Crimpshrine and Pinhead Gunpowder on drums and ex-Gr'ups bassist Daniela Sea.
Drummer Adam Pfahler is currently drumming in San Francisco-based Whysall Lane, whose LP was released in 2006 on his own Blackball Records.
Bassist Chris Bauermeister has been playing in post-hardcore band Horace Pinker and pop-punk band Shorebirds, which was formed with Matt Canino, formerly of Latterman; Shorebirds split in the summer of 2008.
In 2021, Blake Schwarzenbach teamed up with Joyce Manor on a release.
In spite of the similar name, the band Jawbreaker Reunion is unrelated.
Caroline
Jawbreaker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But none of her calls are getting through
She tries to call a friend now
She lives in a room alone
She has dreams instead of moments now
Caroline on the line but never getting through
She's getting tired of reaching out
The world caught in her eyes
Every day the same display
Caroline always seems to cry
She has a window there
It looks into a world of terror
The glass is several miles thick
Her sleep is dangerous
It keeps her mind from her body
And now she never wants to wake
These lyrics, from Jawbreaker's song "Caroline", tell the story of a person who is desperately trying to connect with someone else, but feels isolated and alone. Caroline has a phone, represented by a dime, but none of her calls are getting through. She tries to call a friend, but lives in a room alone. Caroline's only solace is her imagination, as she prefers to dream instead of facing the harsh reality of her life.
The world, which Caroline sees through her eyes, is a monotonous, seemingly hopeless display. She can't seem to connect with anyone, and is constantly crying as a result. Caroline's only connection to the outside world is a window, but the view it provides is a terrifying one. The glass is miles thick, signifying the barriers between Caroline and those around her, and her sleep is dangerous because it keeps her mind from her body.
Line by Line Meaning
Caroline has a dime
Caroline has a small amount of money
But none of her calls are getting through
Caroline's attempts to contact others aren't successful
She tries to call a friend now
Caroline attempts to reach out to someone she knows
She lives in a room alone
Caroline resides in a solitary space
Her best friend's her imagination
Caroline relies on her fantasies for companionship
She has dreams instead of moments now
Caroline's life is filled with hopes instead of experiences
Caroline on the line but never getting through
Caroline is attempting to communicate, but it's not working
She's getting tired of reaching out
Caroline is losing the energy to connect with others
The world caught in her eyes
Caroline is keenly aware of her surroundings
Every day the same display
Caroline's life is monotonous
Caroline always seems to cry
Caroline is frequently emotional
She has a window there
Caroline has access to a portal
It looks into a world of terror
The portal provides a view of something frightening
The glass is several miles thick
The window is intensely fortified
Her sleep is dangerous
Caroline's slumber is unsafe
It keeps her mind from her body
Caroline's unconsciousness separates her thoughts from her physical form
And now she never wants to wake
Caroline's current state makes her never want to be alert again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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