Orange Rhyming Dictionary

During the early-to-mid 1990s, Jawbreaker were viewed as what Dave Clifford of SF Weekly referred to as "indie darlings" that were praised for their "headstrong resistance" against the mainstream music industry.[1] The group signed to major label DGC Records, which brought them vitriol from their friends. Due to a lack of success from radio stations and MTV disregarding their final album Dear You in 1995,[1] the band broke up shortly after playing their final show in May 1996. Frontman Blake Schwarzenbach briefly played drums in Moons,[2] before moving from San Francisco to New York City.[3] He settled into an apartment in Brooklyn;[2] that same day, Schwarzenbach met bassist/vocalist Jeremy Chatelain.[4] He was a friend of Schwarzenbach's girlfriend, and had previously met him while living on the West Coast.[5][6]

Chatelain's band Handsome was recording a major label debut at the time.[4] The duo quickly became friends and planned to meet up later in the year; Schwarzenbach spent the next few months recording demos.[5] With no intention of playing in a band again,[4] Schwarzenbach spent 1997 writing for Spin and GameSpot. Sometime after, Schwarzenbach started playing with synthesizers and samplers, taping some songs on a TASCAM four-track recorder.[2] Chatelain, with Handsome now broken up, heard Schwarzenbach's demos, and attempted to talk him into playing music again. Chatelain, who was aware that Texas Is the Reason had broken up, brought drummer Chris Daly in to replace the drum machine parts on Schwarzenbach's demos.[5]

The trio got along well and decided to form Jets to Brazil; they recorded a five-song demo tape[5] and made their live debut in April 1998.[2] The group's punk rock attitude, pop sensibilities and new wave aesthetic caught the attention of independent label Jade Tree.[7] Schwarzenbach freed himself from a three-album contract with DGC,[2] and signed to Jade Tree.[7] With Lifetime's Peter Martin as the group's temporary second guitarist,[2] they played shows in the US northeast, before touring across Europe with the Promise Ring for five weeks.[7] Orange Rhyming Dictionary was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee for two weeks[5] in August 1998. It was produced by J. Robbins and engineered by Stuart Sikes.[8]

Orange Rhyming Dictionary saw a shift from the pop punk/punk rock sound of Jawbreaker into indie rock[1][3][9] and post-hardcore territory,[10] utilizing sparser song arrangements and thin vocal harmonies in place of Schwarzenbach's gritty voice.[1] It retained the catchy choruses of pop punk, while being backed by the post-hardcore guitar work.[11] The album, which drew comparisons to Gang of Four and Magazine,[12] incorporated new wave influences,[13] and dense guitarwork, styled after Ride.[14] It explored the feelings Schwarzenbach felt while he was in Jawbreaker during his period with DGC: fear, hope and doubt.[15] Some of the songs tackle being a white-collar worker, drug addiction and spending time in hotel rooms; sung in third-person.[4] It also addresses sustaining artistic integrity despite commercial expectations.[15] Schwarzenbach fondness for longer songs laid the groundwork for the album; with "Accident Prone" and "Jet Black", both from Dear You, serving as the blueprint for most of Orange Rhyming Dictionary.[3]

"Crown of the Valley" opens with Schwarzenbach's Brit funk-indebted and wah-wah pedal-enhanced guitar line,[1] which was backed by polyrhythmic drum parts. Prior to the chorus, the guitar shifts to minimalistic droning with only the drums being heard. This experimentation recalled the efforts heard on Dear You.[16] The chorus features detuned string bending and jangling chord progressions.[1] The art rock track "Morning New Disease" is followed by new wave number "Resistance Is Futile",[12] which incorporates a synthesizer part that was reminiscent of Gary Numan. The track sees Chatelain channelling 1970s rock-esque backing vocals. Schwarzenbach's vocal on "Sea Anemone" and "Sweet Avenue" was compared to the crooning of the Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler.[1] "Sea Anemone" and "Conrad" tackled the theme of suicide.[17] "Lemon Yellow Black" was influenced by a biography of Albert Camus, and dealt with the French Resistance and turncoatism.[18] The introduction to "King Medicine" features harmonic guitar parts.[16] "I Typed for Miles was inspired by a scene in the film Barton Fink (1991),[3] and was compared to "Heart-Shaped Box" by Nirvana.[19] The album ends with the acoustic closing track "Sweet Avenue", which deals with the aftermath of a date, where one is able to process the emotions they're feeling.[16][20]

As the album was written with two guitars and a keyboard, they brought in former the Van Pelt guitarist Brian Maryansky to aid in performing the songs live.[4] Maryansky had previously played with Daly in the early 1990s act Resurrection.[21] Orange Rhyming Dictionary was released on October 27, 1998.[22] Jade Tree's distribution methods meant that the album was stocked at stores throughout the band's subsequent tours. It was in contrast to Dear Year, which suffered from DGC letting it go out-of-print.[6] Following this, the band toured across the US with the Promise Ring, leading up to a Japanese tour the following month.[7] In early 1999, the band performed at South by Southwest, which Schwarzenbach later called "a train wreck."[23]

In April 1999, the band went a tour of the US with the Midwest and East Coast dates being supported by Euphone, Macha, and Pedro the Lion; Jets to Brazil took a month's break following this.[6][24] Schwarzenbach spent the next few months visiting his uncle in Mexico and traveling on a boat ride to California.[25] In September 1999, the group performed at the Jade Tree/CMJ showcase in New York City, and a handful of east coast dates around this.[26] The band had planned to return to Europe shortly after their April US tour,[24] however, the dates were later rescheduled to November and December 1999, with support from Euphone.[26] In February 2000, the group went on an east coast tour, with support from the Americans[27] and a few shows with Turing Machine.[28]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[19]

Orange Rhyming Dictionary was met with favorable reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Mike DaRonco said the band "live up to their hype", noting that the majority of the tracks "clock in at an epic length." The releases "mood swings" vary from "laid-back and gloomy too upbeat and not as gloomy" (sic), while still being "all in a good sort of way".[19] Cheryl Botchick of CMJ New Music Report said it managed a "rare accomplishment: The album actually picks up in speed, catchiness and fervor as it progresses."[11] Ink 19 writer Andrew Chadwick found the lyrics "the same, like an old friend with a fresh heartache"; adding that this was where the similarities with Jawbreaker ended. He noted that melodic punk of Jawbreaker had been swapped for "another evolution" that is "cleaner, less aggressive", yet "still emotionally powerful."[29] The staff at Impact Press said "emotion of Jawbreaker shines through" with Schwarzenbach's vocals and his "always brilliant song writing".[30]

Ox-Fanzine's Joachim Hiller said the record was "unlikely to disappoint anyone" who was a fan of the members' past work in their previous bands. He added that it was "hard and massive and edgy" with "loud" guitar work that was "just damn good."[31] Dave Clifford of SF Weekly wrote that the record "displays [Schwarzenbach's] reluctance to revisit his former role of coaxing angst from a wall of distorted guitars." He mentioned Schwarzenbach was attempting to "remain true to himself while exploring different arteries ... which makes Orange Rhyming Dictionary something of a triumph."[1] Washington City Paper writer Colin Bane said the record "succeeds almost solely on the strength" of Schwarzenbach's "knack for always having something interesting to say and the language at his disposal to say it."[9] Punk Planet reviewer Dan Sinker had three points of contention: namely, the "terrible" title, Schwarzenbach's pseudo-British accent, which was "kinda strange way back" when he used it in Jawbreaker, and "[t]hirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the first song totally sucks".[32] Rachel Phillips of Sun-Sentinel described it as the "worst album I have ever heard", with band having "nothing to offer except for 11 annoying tracks of mindless lyrics, shabby vocals and irritating background music."[33]

Orange Rhyming Dictionary eventually became the best-selling release in Jade Tree's history.[2] It has appeared on a best-of emo list by Louder,[17] a best-of 1990s list by Treblezine,[34] and influential album lists by Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail[35] and Vinnie Caruana of the Movielife/I Am the Avalanche.[36] Similarly, "Chinatown" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by Vulture.[37]

Track listing per booklet.[8]

1. "Crown of the Valley" – 4:55
2. "Morning New Disease" – 4:16
3. "Resistance Is Futile" – 3:00
4. "Starry Configurations" – 4:03
5. "Chinatown" – 5:35
6. "Sea Anemone" – 5:20
7. "Lemon Yellow Black" – 4:02
8. "Conrad" – 4:58
9. "King Medicine" – 5:42
10. "I Typed for Miles" – 5:33
11. "Sweet Avenue" – 5:16

Personnel per booklet.[8]

Jets to Brazil

• Blake Schwarzenbach – guitar, vocals, strings, keys
• Jeremy Chatelain – bass, backing vocals
• Chris Daly – drums

Production

• J. Robbins – producer
• Stuart Sikes – engineer
• Alan Douches – mastering
• Chrissy Piper – photography
• Jason Gnewikow – art direction, design

Citations

Sources

• Orange Rhyming Dictionary at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)