Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 who are often cited as one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement. Lead vocalist and guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach, bassist Chris Bauermeister, and drummer Adam Pfahler formed the band while students at New York University, later relocating to Los Angeles where they released their debut album Unfun (1990) through independent record label Shredder Records. Relocating again to San Francisco the following year, they released 1992's Bivouac through the Tupelo Recording Company and The Communion Label. Schwarzenbach's charisma and personal, frustrated lyrics helped to establish him as a cult idol, even as he underwent surgery to remove painful and voice-threatening polyps from his throat. Jawbreaker toured with Nirvana in 1993 and released 24 Hour Revenge Therapy in 1994, attracting the attention of major labels. They signed a $1 million contract with DGC Records and released 1995's Dear You, but the album's polished production and smooth vocals resulted in a significant backlash from the band's core audience. Internal tensions led to Jawbreaker's dissolution in 1996.
Following the breakup, the members of Jawbreaker were active in other projects including Jets to Brazil and Whysall Lane. Pfahler continued to issue previously-recorded Jawbreaker material through his Blackball Records label, and public interest in the band continued due in part to nationally-charting pop punk and emo acts openly indebted to Jawbreaker's sound. In 2004 Pfahler licensed the out-of-print Dear You from DGC's parent company Geffen Records and re-released it to positive response. He has since issued a remastered version of Unfun, and plans to remaster the rest of the band's catalog. In 2007 Jawbreaker briefly reunited in the studio during the recording of a documentary film about the band, but rumors of a full reunion have repeatedly been dispelled by the members and the film has no projected release date.

Musical style

Jawbreaker's music is characterized by raw vocals, a driving rhythm section, and grinding guitar—a mix used by many punk bands. Unlike most other punk bands, Jawbreaker delves into complex song structure, melody, instrumental interludes, and obscure sampled recordings. Jawbreaker's lyrics, written largely by Schwarzenbach, are imbued with a literary melancholy comparable to the work of early Charles Bukowski, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Jawbreaker's songs fuse personal longing with animistic fetishization of both public objects (boats and boxcars) and private (books and bottles). Many of Jawbreaker's songs reflect on post-college depression, social issues, and youthful aspiration.

Cult status

The band's cult status as the definitive nineties punk band has grown since its breakup. 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. Another tribute album, So Much for Letting Go, was released on Coptercrash Records. Chris Conley of Saves the Day has cited Jawbreaker as an influence on his writing. Jesse Lacey of Brand New is known to cover Jawbreaker songs such as "Accident Prone" in some of his concerts. Set Your Goals covered "Do You Still Hate Me" on a Bay Area punk compilation. Lagwagon also covered Jawbreaker's "Want," which can be found on their b-sides album, "Let's Talk About Leftovers." The Lawrence Arms and The Sour Notes have also been known to cover Jawbreaker songs, and cite them as an influence which is clearly evident in their music and lyrics. John Hulett of Automatic 7 cites Jawbreaker as the bands greatest influence. Comparisons have also been drawn between early Jawbreaker and Face to Face, who as mentioned above covered "The Boat Dreams from the Hill" on the tribute album and their own covers album Standards and Practices Ampere makes a lyrical reference to "Kiss the Bottle" in their song "Abject Failure". In addition, Rise Against has been known to cover "Tour Song" from time to time in various acoustic sessions (such as on Sessions@AOL). Alternative county band, Lucero, also cover the Jawbreaker B-Side, "Kiss The Bottle" both live and on record. The recorded version can be found on the Re-Issue of The Attic Tapes. Northstar covers "Chesterfield King" as an acoustic song on their EP Broken Parachute as well. On the album Anywhere but Here, by The Ataris, they cover 'Boxcar' and the Foo Fighters covered "Kiss The Bottle" on the ep/single "Best of You".

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawbreaker_(band)