Jawbreaker - I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both

You’re in the presence of true punk rock royalty this week, friends. Well, whatever equivalent to royalty that the scene wouldn’t roundly detest, anyway; it’s an understandable ick. Let’s put it this way - there are big names in the modern game, and then there are huge names. And you can bet your bottom dollar that a good chunk of those huge names could list what they owe to Jawbreaker on one several hundred-fingered hand. Hundred Fingered Hand, incidentally, is now the name of my experimental jazz-punk fusion band. And not just because it sounds like we can’t play our instruments properly. 

Here's a very quick history lesson if you’re out of the loop. From their auspicious 1986 beginnings in a rented room in New York to being recognised as one of the genre’s legacy players through the 90s (factor in a long term split and reunion in 2017 into that, too), Jawbreaker have played figurehead and influence in equal measure to the up-and-coming punklings after them. A lot of that is down to their unique way of telling it as it is, which is where Jawbreaker really are second to none. Their mix of raging against the machine through the frankly poetic lyricism and delivery sets them apart, while them being so damn good at it sets them above. They’ve got a tendency to take what would be short and sweet ass-kickers and extend them to unprecedented lengths for a punk band – six minutes for a punk song is equivalent to about two and a half hours for most other genres – without them losing a drop of intensity and impact. It’s a one-two punch you can ride the wave of and take time to be introspective with, too. Clever stuff.

But that’s what Jawbreaker is all about. They are, unquestionably, a figurehead in the punk scene, and we’re going to let them wax lyrical for a little while for our Rock Song of the Week pick in I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both. With a new album on the horizon, the band ain’t dead either, so there might be hope for the future punklings yet. We might need them more than ever, truth be told.