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.
Sluttering
Jawbreaker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
made a mess of us. It's time to leave this place. I'd saw through your
wrist to find a better trap that fits. I'd saw through your traps to
find a better you, a part of you that lasts. I saw through your trap and
into my own wrists. Saw we were through, red ribbons spill to blue: a
sight to sore your eyes. I got this dress. I'm hiking it around this
waste of laughter. Slow dance alone with no one to the sound of four
hands clapping. Congratulations to you both, I hope somewhere you're
in the blood, fly in the disappointment. Rubber, I'm glue. I'll write
the book on you. It's sticking to my face. You need a little less than
what you take for granted. This is the sip that's drinking back from
you, blacking out your eyes. You need a little more suppression of your
appetites. This is your honeymoon, in separate rooms, it's neither sweet
nor bright. I made a word to give this state a name, this game a guess.
I call it "sluttering". It means as little as your little test. You are
your worst revenge. Your very means, they have no ends. This is a story
you won't tell the kids we'll never have. If you hear this song a
hundred times it still won't be enough.
The lyrics of Jawbreaker's song Sluttering, though cryptic, are full of intense emotional themes that relate to love, loss, and the complexity of human relationships. The song tells the story of a breakup, where the singer is overwhelmed by the hurt and despair of the situation. The opening lines, "flattered that you think I warrant ugliness," convey a sense of insecurity and shock at being rejected. The next line, "gutters drain west, mud made a mess of us," describes the aftermath of their failed relationship, the feeling of being trapped and stuck.
Throughout the song, the singer seems to be questioning the moral of the story and looking for some kind of closure. The lines "if there's a moral to this story then I wish you'd show me" and "this is a story you won't tell the kids we'll never have" highlight the singer's search for meaning and understanding in their relationship.
The chorus, "sluttering" is a made-up word that seems to be a play on the words "slut" and "fluttering." It does not have a clear meaning, but perhaps it represents the chaotic and frenzied emotions that the singer is feeling.
Overall, the lyrics of Sluttering explore the pain and confusion that can come with a breakup, as well as the difficulty of finding closure and understanding in relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Flattered that you think I warrant ugliness.
I'm so honored that you consider me worthy of your ugliness.
Gutters drain west, mud made a mess of us.
The gutters are flowing westward, and we're both covered in mud.
It's time to leave this place.
We need to get out of here and move on.
I'd saw through your wrist to find a better trap that fits.
I'd even cut your wrist to find a better trap that works for me.
I'd saw through your traps to find a better you, a part of you that lasts.
I'd cut through your traps to find the real you, the part of you that lasts.
I saw through your trap and into my own wrists.
I realized that I fell into my own trap.
Saw we were through, red ribbons spill to blue: a sight to sore your eyes.
When we broke up, it was messy and caused a lot of pain.
I got this dress. I'm hiking it around this waste of laughter.
I'm wearing this dress and walking around in this place where there's nothing but fake laughter.
Slow dance alone with no one to the sound of four hands clapping.
I feel like I'm dancing alone, even though there are other people around.
Congratulations to you both, I hope somewhere you're happy.
Even though we're not together anymore, I still wish you the best and hope you're happy.
If there's a moral to this story then I wish you'd show me.
I don't understand what the lesson is in all of this, and I wish you could help me figure it out.
Hair in the blood, fly in the disappointment.
There's chaos and disappointment all around us.
Rubber, I'm glue. I'll write the book on you. It's sticking to my face.
I'm unbreakable, and I'll be the one to tell the story of our relationship. It's like a book stuck to my face.
You need a little less than what you take for granted. This is the sip that's drinking back from you, blacking out your eyes.
You need to learn to appreciate what you have, or it will disappear and cause you pain.
You need a little more suppression of your appetites. This is your honeymoon, in separate rooms, it's neither sweet nor bright.
You should control your impulses and desires more. Even though you're on your honeymoon, being in separate rooms is neither romantic nor cheerful.
I made a word to give this state a name, this game a guess. I call it "sluttering". It means as little as your little test.
I created the term "sluttering" to describe our relationship. It's a meaningless term just like our relationship was meaningless.
You are your worst revenge. Your very means, they have no ends.
You're the only one punishing yourself. Your actions have no purpose or resolution.
This is a story you won't tell the kids we'll never have.
Our relationship is not the kind of story we'll share with our hypothetical children.
If you hear this song a hundred times it still won't be enough.
This song perfectly captures the emotion and pain of our relationship, and listening to it multiple times won't diminish its impact.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Caulder [The Mixtape / Ousted Productions]
25 years after discovering Jawbreaker, finally saw them tonight (March 27th, 2019) in Philly. Worth the wait. Especially when they played this. Ugh. Brilliance. Always.
PaperThinWalls
I should have been there.
Makzil78
I am late on the jawbreaker wagon too. I first heard of them a couple years ago by my younger brother. We saw them live in 2018 and I am still in awe! I wish I had heard of them before I heard of Alkaline Trio and others. Better late than never! Awesome band!
Shawn O'Brien
chriscauldermusic I just saw them in Boston they we’re amazing!
Matt White
Happy Jawbreaker Day 2021 all!
Forrest Levi
I look forward to this day every year.
Windtell31
I just found this because of reddit and I hope a lot more do! Great song! I'll check out more of their stuff for sure.
Let’sMathsDebate
He's right, i've heard this song 100 times and its still not enough :)
Uru!
Jawbreaker Day 2020 and this song is as good as it's always been. Stay safe in quarantine everyone!
Luke Campbell
Happy Jawbreaker Day! Quarantine is slightly less miserable with this band playing.