Jawbreaker's Complete Dear You Sessions To Be Released

Jawbreaker's complete recording sessions for their 1995 major-label debut, Dear You, are being re-released by drummer Adam Pfahler's Blackball Records in February.

Dear You, the band's final studio album, was originally released by Geffen. The reissue features the additional tracks "Into You," "Like a Train," "Sister," "Friendly Fire" and "Boxcar," the previously unreleased song "Shirt," a 24-page booklet, new artwork and a video for "Fireman."

Singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach (currently of Jets to Brazil) told Punk Planet magazine that Dear You documents a difficult phase in Jawbreaker's history, one that primarily resulted from their major-label signing. "I was in a really destructive mode," Schwarzenbach was quoted as saying in Punk Planet's February 2003 issue. "Even if people were really there to support us, I wondered what they were thinking. That was a really intense time. The song 'Friendly Fire,' which has finally come out on the new record, was completely about that."

But retaining a certain amount of independence, Jawbreaker were able to enjoy the Dear You recording sessions. "We really were left alone to make that record," Schwarzenbach was quoted as saying. "It felt really isolated. We made those choices all the way through. We added all those guitars. God, there were so many guitar tracks, it was hard to stop adding them. We were like, 'Wow, it sounds even bigger now!'"

Jawbreaker have no intention of reuniting, just allowing for a proper closure of sorts. "It seems like there's still a lot of interest in the band — and we're not prepared to indulge that interest with any sort of reunion or with any sort of performance," he also told Punk Planet. "I would love to see the band stop with the re-release of Dear You. I think that should be the last document."

Founded in NYC in '88, the band — Schwarzenbach, Pfahler and bassist Chris Bauermeister — became known for their emotionally infectious punk songs, which dealt with themes of depression, loneliness and heartbreak, and led many to dub them the forefathers of emo. Inspired by the SST punk bands of the early-to-mid '80s (Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen, etc. etc.), the group were hard-working, and lived by independent-minded ethics.

Jawbreaker released their first album, Unfun, on Shredder Records in 1989, following it with 1991's Bivouac and 1993's 24-Hour Revenge Therapy, both of which were released on the obscure Tupelo/Communion label. They got a chance to experience playing to huge audiences when they earned a spot on Nirvana's In Utero tour in 1993.

They never achieved the success of other pop-punk and emo acts (Blink 182, Dashboard Confessional) that came in their wake. Still, they've found lasting power and credibility, thanks to their strong underground following. — Jenny Tatone [Tuesday, November 18, 2003]