JAWBREAKER: Bivouac Vinyl LP

Before emo was a Hot Topic category, before it was a meme, before it was anything, Jawbreaker were doing something rawer and more honest than almost anyone else in American punk. Bivouac, released in 1992, is where they started pulling the genre apart at the seams.

This is the record that sits between the scrappy ferocity of Unfun and the heartbreaking refinement of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, and it's all the more interesting for it. Blake Schwarzenbach's lyrics are literary without being precious, the guitars are blown-out and beautiful, and the whole thing sounds like it was recorded in a room full of bad feelings and good instincts. If you know, you know. If you don't, this is a hell of a place to start.

Vinyl LP, 2012 pressing. Genre: punk, post-hardcore, emo. Origin: USA, original release 1992.

Fans of: Leatherface, Samiam, The Descendents, early Get Up Kids.