Jawbox Set to Reissue 'Sweetheart'

Posted on Nov 5th 2009 4:00PM by Linda Laban
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There were two main reasons why Jawbox choose to reissue their 1994 album, 'For Your Own Special Sweetheart.' First, the angular alt rock band considers it their most accomplished work. "That is unquestionably the best Jawbox record," singer/guitarist J. Robbins tells Spinner. "'Sweetheart' is when we found our voice."

Second, as much as they love the record, there's one thing that's always bugged the quartet, which formed in the DC underground music scene in the late 1980s. "Our only long-standing reservation about 'Sweetheart' is the low-end. It just had this, I don't know if it was the '90s and people had a certain sound in mind, but the low-end on that record is real scooped out," Robbins says of the bass frequencies. "The record has this gnarly sounding top-end. It's a really thorny sounding record for a major label debut. No major label would issue that record now. There's no hope of it being hit. It's willfully abrasive. There's a lot about the sound that's really cool, but the low-end is receding."

When Dischord Records lined up Shellac bassist and Mission of Burma tape op Bob Weston, who is an engineer in his own right, for the remastering, Robbins saw a great opportunity to fix the sound. "It was all about making sure the low-end was really slamming and Bob nailed it," he says.

"It's exciting, period, just to hear the record," Robbins continues. "But it sounds so much more physical and present now. Like this is a band in front of you. It's like there was something in there that was waiting to be set free."

Dischord will reissue 'Sweetheart' along with the 1994 'Savory +3' EP on Nov. 24,