Jawbox

(TAG)
by Joshua Brown

Government Issue was a DC hardcore band that broke its own rules by writing punk music that emphasized a “sensitive side.” (To illustrate the point, try substituting stuff like the nasal voiced, “I am an antichrist, I am an anarchist” with the choked-up empathy of “he keeps it all locked inside.”) GI, along with others, including fellow DC-ers Dag Nasty, created a sound that would later be named “emo.” The combination of intensity and sensitivity was quite ingratiating, so the sound made its way into the fabric of the prolonged media event known as “alternative rock in the nineties,” long after the original bands had broken up. And Government Issue left us longing for more. Since Jawbox was G.I.’s partial reincarnation, many people were anticipating great things. Things that didn’t happen ’til the band stopped recording for Dischord Records and signed to Atlantic with the ’94 album For Your Own Special Sweetheart. The single was “Savory,” whose title describes the feelings associated with it in the minds and hearts of those who heard it after having anxiously awaited a follow-up worthy of the GI days. After that, however, it seems Jawbox are back to releasing crappy albums, for example, the new self-titled release. It’s as generic and low-impact as the countless imitators who use Government Issue’s tricks to less avail.