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Rating: People like Blake Schwarzenbach deserve a monument. A great man and (if I may use the term) a great storyteller, the mind behind the fantastic Jawbreaker, he should be taken as an example of consistency, intelligence, rigor, and inflexibility for all music enthusiasts, the kind of music made with heart and passion and not just to fatten wallets.
The young emocore generation made in MTV, all bermuda shorts and trendy haircuts, should blush and bow down to this man who, for 15 years (or maybe more), pursued his own path regardless of trends and gifted us with wonderful and ever-relevant music, a source of inspiration (or worse, of imitation...) for myriad bands in the emocore scene, and beyond. Jawbreaker was an unfortunate band that did not receive the public success it deserved: too positive and clean to enter the big grunge cauldron, too uncommercial for the mid-90s neo-punk explosion wave, they had an ill-fated major experience with Geffen, which wanted to turn them into the new Green Day (!), resulting in a breakup. Subsequently, Blake Schwarzenbach, vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist, together with former Texas Is The Reason drummer Chris Daly and former Handsome bassist Jeremy Chatelain (later joined by guitarist Brian Maryansky) founded Jets To Brazil. To be clear, they are a superb band.
The tones have become more subdued and reflective compared to the Jawbreaker experience, and the positive energy of the previous band is channeled into a more elaborate and thoughtful sound, very evocative. Where before they arrived with impact, now they arrive with technique and finesse; what remains intact is the passion. The pinnacle of their discography, in my opinion, is represented by "Perfecting Loneliness," a 2002 album released by Jade Tree.
"Perfecting Loneliness" has everything: great lyrics (very autobiographical, melancholic yet imbued with hope and optimism), great tracks excellently arranged (fantastic use of synthetic strings!), excellent production, and above all, the unmistakable and inimitable voice of Schwarzenbach, which has reached levels of absolute excellence and expressiveness. Every track on the album exudes great passion and authenticity, and presents such a quantity of ideas and cues with which any other group of the genre would have constructed at least 3 or 4 tracks. But not Jets To Brazil. The key to the album is what happens at the 4-minute and 10-second mark of "Lucky Charm": a rocking ballad full of hope, then a fantastic dreamy break made only of synthetic strings, with vibraphone and piano entering and the piece becomes something else, becoming more reflective and intimate. Simply magnificent. The entire album is at these levels, particularly beautiful are the opening "The Frequency", "You're The One That I Want", "Perfecting Loneliness" (initially driving and rocking, then reaching remarkable levels of pathos: textbook), "Autumn Walker" and the final piano, guitar, and effect-laden vocal ballad "Rocket Boy".
Unfortunately, "Perfecting Loneliness" will remain the last album for Jets To Brazil: after the tour following the album in 2003 they broke up; it seems that now Blake Schwarzenbach writes for a video game magazine. They would have deserved more luck and greater success, maybe not a mass success (which for a band like this is perhaps a utopia), but I would at least like them to be more known and remembered because they truly deserve it, it would be an enormous satisfaction for me.
At this point, a little provocation about success fits, although without polemic intentions: no offense, but why not them and, let's say, the (albeit respectable and good) Foo Fighters? In any case, a reunion for Jets To Brazil would be a must. I hope for it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Perfecting Loneliness (05:46)
I'm a long list with no time
sunset panic on the street
sugar and light bulbs
the milk of kindness is behind us now
with all those stones in your coat
did you think they wouldn't know?
The tea leafs of trashed sheets
dirty needles and sweets
zero to heaven in seven
a life time a nano second
all the sand in your glass
is going by so fast
the radio is playing our tune
i love it could you turn it down
the thought of you crying in my room
i miss you could you come around sometime
when the night comes down
the world becomes a room
under a microscope
with a lab coat and glue
i'm fixing this whole with everything i knew
the music is making my head split
i love it could you turn it off
the thought of you is tearing me in two
i miss you could you come around sometime, sometime
this list is what went right
your name is written twice
cause we live like astronauts
and our missons never cross
the stakes are high
we're standing by
there used to be a hundred ways
to put my arms around you
everyone seemed new, natural, and true
perfecting loneliness
till nothing's holding us
consider earth
we could be far worse
08 Autumn Walker (05:33)
Hello, old friend. It's been a while. How you been?
All things must end, but did you know what that meant?
The birds fly south. The summer sets.
The lights go out. Leaves on the ground.
Autumn walker, you just walked out.
And I see it now.
That it's so much easier alone,
and you don't have to worry about me.
It's all good. It's all wrong.
And I hope you find the place and the people that you need.
I don't want to be the one who always waits for you to wait and see.
What makes you run? Was it me or anyone?
It goes to show when people grow,
people go and there you go autumn walker.
Stay now, autumn walker.
Drink down your doubt.
A glass half empty can empty you out.
My heart is full of promises that drank me whole.
And I see it now.
That it's so much easier alone.
But you don't have to go very far 'cause where you go, there you are.
And it shouldn't be so hard to see your friends.
That's who they are.
I don't mean tot ell you how to run your life, but make up your heart.
You go too far.
In the atmosphere, you fall apart.
More miles than my car's got on it.
That's pretty far.
10 William Tell Override (03:58)
Caught making conversation to your teeth.
Kite high in Tuesday ether.
Been gone all week.
People live for such a long time.
Eighty years to get one right.
Jet white like all day paper comes back blank.
No time for conversation, too much to say.
We think you'll live for such a long time now.
You can take this as you like.
This is the sun beating down your door.
Feels like a gun, right between the eyes.
Warm in your sunshine.
William Tell override.
White lies and dedication.
Have a seat.
Glass actor swing your hammer.
This isn't me.
I've been searching for the right kind.
One who doesn't aim so high.
This is the sun, a lifelong suicide,
cold as a gun in hands that can't decide.
Warm in her sunshine.
William Tell override.
When I took it to the man,
he said, "We're doing all we can."
Then he shook my hand
This is the sun, closer than you know.
Feels like a gun, shining through your window.
Warm in the sunshine.
William Tell override.
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