Dear You

Dear You is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Jawbreaker. Under DGC Records, it was released on September 12, 1995. Spurred on by releases from Green Day and the Offspring, punk rock reached mainstream status. While promoting their third studio album 24 Hour Revenge Therapy (1994), Jawbreaker was approached by Geffen Records. After securing management, they signed to the label and started recording what would be their major label debut at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, with producer Rob Cavallo. While bassist Chris Bauermeister and drummer Adam Pfahler recorded their respective parts within a few days, frontman Blake Schwarzenbach did his parts over six weeks in February and March 1995. Mainly described as an emo, pop-punk and punk rock album, Dear You returns to the darker sound of Jawbreaker's second album Bivouac (1992). The lyrics largely revolve around the aftermath of the relationship that was the inspiration for 24 Hour Revenge Therapy; others, such as "Save Your Generation" and "Chemistry", deal with slacker culture and attending school, respectively. Unlike previous releases, Dear You sees Schwarzenbach sing more instead of scream: his vocals evoked Morrissey, while the overall band was compared to the work of Green Day, Jawbox and Nirvana. Dear You was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the album's sound and highlighted the lyrics. It peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States. There, it would sell 40,000 copies by 2002. "Fireman" was released as the album's lead single in August 1995; Jawbreaker embarked on the Monsters of Jaw tour with Jawbox, and then toured Australia as part of the Summersault festival. "Accident Prone" was released as the next single by April 1996, which was promoted with a supporting slot for the Foo Fighters. Following a fist fight between Bauermeister and Schwarzenbach, Jawbreaker announced their break up in 1996. Jawbreaker's fanbase was not receptive to Dear You at its release, criticizing its production; the decision to sign with a major label would overtake the album's content, becoming the narrative that dominated the press. Following the band's demise, fan perception changed to a positive one, as the album would become an influence on the next wave of emo and pop-punk artists.