Big-Label Production Turns Jawbreaker To Mush

It’s often a sad day when an underground band releases a new album on a major label. Bay area band Jawbreaker’s new album from DGC is a perfect, and not uncommon, example. It not only means Jawbreaker will never play around here for less than 10 bucks (and without a troop of “moshers”), it’s that they will never be making music like they used to.

Gone are the catchy, hard driving songs that made Jawbreaker one of the best punk bands around. Now they have been Studioized. The new sound is gauzy and soft; it’s Jawbreaker, cough-syrup style.

Singer/guitarist Blake Schwartzenbauch’s guitar is overdriven to the point of sounding like Green Day, and the songs suffer considerably. The band’s previous albums (“Unfun,” “Bivoac,” and “24 Hour Revenge Therapy”) all had a harder sound, which helped give the pop-influenced songs an edge. “Dear You” has no edge whatsoever. All the sharp corners have been filed and sanded by the producer (the advance CD I listened to didn’t list the producer, a wise decision).

The other fundamental problem with the tracks is that Schwartzenbauch’s voice has been given the same treatment as his Les Paul. The soft, mellow tone he sticks to throughout “Dear You” makes you long for the thunderous “I want you! I want you!” of “Unfun.”

The best element of old Jawbreaker was Schwartzenbauch’s ragged I-just-swallowed-glass voice. “Dear You”does not even have a hint of his old style, it’s just a candy coated throwaway.

The songs haven’t changed as much as the sound. “Dear You” is much slower, but cuts like “Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault” and “I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both” are more than reminiscent of previous work. This makes listening to “Dear You” even more painful for Jawbreaker fans: Underneath all the overproduced foam, a great song is buried.

Unfortunately, also like the other albums, “Dear You” has several overlong and monotonous slow songs. As usual, they go on and on and on. “Basilica,” “Million,” and especially “Accident Prone” are absolutely boring. But that’s nothing new to Jawbreaker fans who have survived other long songs.

Most of the decipherable songs have a point to make, and do it effectively. The most powerful track off “Dear You” with the most power is the first: “Save Your Generation.” It tackles the slackerism and pessimism that afflicts our generation.

“I have a message: save your generation,” Schwartzenbauch says. “We’re killing each other by sleeping in.”

“Save your Generation” offers much to think about in its carefully constructed lyrics, but one line in particular sticks: If you could save yourself, you could save us all.

“Dear You” could have been much worse if the ‘song writing hadn’t been able to shine through. At least the band has not been completely mulched by a big studio, like Seattle’s once-was Love Battery.

But “Dear You” is still a grave marker of sorts for Jawbreaker. It represents the death of a great band. Coming out of the same scene that crossover bands Green Day and Rancid came from, it’s understandable, and maybe even forgivable that Jawbreaker let themselves be signed. But what’s not understandable is that they let themselves be controlled by a major label, and the product is a creamy, radio-friendly album that could go over big with the kids at the mall. Rest In Peace, Jawbreaker.