For Your Own Special Sweetheart

As the first band to leave the Dischord nest for the proverbial "bigger, better things," Jawbox broke a few DIY hearts when they signed to Atlantic. Subsequent dismissal would later fragment the band, but not before they laid down their magnum opus, For Your Own Special Sweetheart. Simultaneously violent and sublime as J. Robbins' gravelly rasp flies over the crunching chords of "Savory", or the drunken lurch of a wayward bassline collides with a tower of guitar at seventy miles per on the ominous "Motorist", all the gears turn in unison, creating a near perfect blend of heavy, uncompromising rock and an overarching sense of melody. The balancing act is flawless; Jawbox started in Fugazi's shadow as all Dischord bands inevitably do, but for a moment, superceded them, managing a feat that their ancestors wouldn't duplicate for several albums. --Eric Carr