Track This: Jets To Brazil's "Further North"


Jets to Brazil always makes me think of fall, changing seasons, and remembrance. I started listening to them at a pivotal moment when I was figuring out my identity and becoming an adult. I had long been a fan of Jawbreaker, and when Black Schwarzenbach started JTB, I went to one of their first national tours in 1998 for Orange Rhyming Dictionary in Milwaukee. They played with Fugazi, Compound Red, and the band I saw play most Milwaukee shows at that time, Promise Ring. It was an amazing show for the most part, and I met Blake before the show.

For many Jawbreaker fans, Jets to Brazil took some getting used to, mainly because they toned down the former band's punk tendencies for more indie rock and pop influences. While 1995's Dear You, Jawbreaker's final record, was moving in this direction, JTB added keyboards and sometimes resembled 1980s bands like The Psychedelic Furs or 1990s indie bands like Wilco more than the punk stylings of many of the Jawbreaker releases, However, Schwarzenbach did have a penchant for covering 80s music and copying the sturm und drang of that period. One example is the extended instrumental passages and repetition on 1992's Bivouac. That said, some Jawbreaker fans struggled with the transition, and people were still trying to understand Dear You, which many saw as a sellout record, a common occurrence in the 1990s, especially since the band derided selling out in their songs like "Indictment." 

I had a different take on the band since I was as big of a fan of 90s alternative and indie bands like Ween and Pavement as punk. I was prepared for these changes and could see why the band progressed. The lyrics and viewpoint recall prime Jawbreaker with a different musical approach. Because I loved other independent music and bands that experimented, it scratched an itch for me, but I understand why some fans struggled. 

Looking through the band's discography, you can see the progression. Orange Rhyming Dictionary still contained punk ferocity and the literary lyrics that Jawbreaker was known for, but as the band progressed, they became more indie and folky in sound. Four Cornered Night is very keyboard-heavy and introspective both musically and lyrically. Their final record, Perfecting Loneliness, might perfect their indie and punk synthesis while experimenting with other genres such as Americana. While their last record is not my favorite, tracks like "Further North," are among the best the band recorded because of lyrical complexity and emotional resonance.  

Listening it today, the track still makes me think of autumn, change, and going home. While many JTB songs tackle these themes, the song drives them home in more ways than one. Lyrically, the song continues Schwarzenbach's penchant for sadness and songs that recall snow days and broken relationships. He sings, "The road tonight is cold with ice, and no cars pass by / Thank God for no phone call, just snow and a fire." Even though, its lyrics and melodies signify stasis and contentment, the song has an undercurrent of loneliness that shows how the speaker longs for connection to home. I felt this distance listening to it while traveling to my parents' house in northern Wisconsin shortly after its release. He sings, "December endings and since you sent me things, I just feel further north." North, in this sense, is connected to the cold of December and endings that might lead to change. He sings of "brittle" trees and songs that he has written about other people, not his love, probably protesting too much. 

Like many of his songs, what is not said is as important as the ideas he stresses. Like good literature, surface readings only get the listener so far. What lies between the lines is necessary because the narrator wants the relationship to continue, but he can go on because by taking comfort in the past and the quietude of winter as he takes the time he needs to heal. The chorus hammers home the song's main themes: "Everything here's about to break / I'm one inch from more than I can take / And it's beautiful and sad, but it's all that I have / So tonight, I'll stay inside." The song ends as sad as it began, telling a wintery story of change and eventual renewal. 

Track This is a recurring feature of Snobbin' that turns the music appreciation dial up and rips it off of your stereo. It introduces a new track, allows readers to rediscover an underappreciated one, or serves as a forum to discuss a song that falls into the ear candy category and should be listened to unabashedly for years to come.

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