album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
band,
Jawbox
Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album ''Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) join ...
. It was produced by
Ted Niceley
Ted Niceley is an American record producer. He is most known for his production work with Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox, Tripping Daisy, and others.Fugazi
Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...
. This would be the band's major label debut, as they had left
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idle ...
to sign with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. It is also the first album to feature Zachary Barocas on drums, as he replaced original drummer Adam Wade two years prior. The album was not much of a commercial success, despite being well received by critics.
"
Savory
Savory or Savoury may refer to:
Common usage
* Herbs of the genus ''Satureja'', particularly:
** Summer savory (''Satureja hortensis''), an annual herb, used to flavor food
** Winter savory (''Satureja montana''), a perennial herb, also used to ...
" was the album's first single, followed by "Cooling Card". "Motorist" and "Jackpot Plus!" had previously been released on a
Dischord
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles ...
single and were newly recorded for this album. The album was remastered and reissued by DeSoto in 2009 with three bonus tracks (b-sides from the "Savory" single) and new cover art.
Reception
The album received very positive reviews upon release.
Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
called the album "the quartet's punchiest record yet, surpassing in blowtorch clarity the group's earlier releases on Fugazi's Dischord label." He praised
Ted Niceley
Ted Niceley is an American record producer. He is most known for his production work with Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Jawbox, Tripping Daisy, and others.
Retrospective reviews (published mostly upon the album's reissue) have been even more positive. Jason Heller called it "the group’s crowning achievement" and "one of that decade’s most lasting, magnificent discs." Andy Kellman called the album "their peak, a thrilling collision of vibrant guitar-generated noise and off-center melodic hooks over a rhythm section that swings as easily as it pummels." "Inside or outside its D.C. epicenter," he writes, "this is one of post-hardcore’s most exceptional releases, second to whatever Fugazi album gives you the biggest charge." Matt LeMay wrote that the album "has aged exceedingly well ..precisely because it did not pander to the aesthetic fads of its time-- mainstream or underground. Instead, Jawbox honed their sound, maximized the resources at their disposal, and made a record that hides behind no extraneous instruments, sounds, or ideologies."
"Savory" was covered by Sacramento rock band
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
.
;Jawbox
*
J. Robbins
James Robbins (best known as J. Robbins) is an American rock musician.
Career
Robbins began his career as a bassist for Government Issue, and has also led five of his own bands: Jawbox, Rollkicker Laydown, Burning Airlines, Channels, and Off ...