Customer Reviews

Four Cornered Night

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In the small, remote town I live in, the only music you'll ever hear is on MTV. I never knew music could sound like this. I'd never heard anything indie at all, and nothing that wasn't on the radio.

I heard about Jets To Brazil though EVE6, who sing there praises constantly. I picked up "Orange Rhyming Dictionary" and instantly fell in love. The jet's second album is pure bliss.

This is the CD that sealed my fate as a musician. On some tracks, like Milk and Apples and Your x-rays it is impossible to sit still. little light is a song that will be stuck in your head until next may. This album is dark and catchy.

What's great is the Jets accessibility. You can sing along to this! The lyrics are thoughtful and emotional. The music is lush and full, incorporating cellos and keyboards among other sounds to round it out.

The first three songs are good but after that this album really picks up speed. It is not the same ole same ole. You'll be left in awe.

Orange Rhyming Dictionary is a great album, but Four Cornered Night is even better.. In my opinion, this album brings out the true personality of Jets to Brazil. Brian (the "new" addition)completed this band and brought to the second album the essential elements that the first one was lacking. Forget what disgruntled Jawbreaker fans have to say.. I am a loyal Jawbreaker fan.. but guess what, folks.. this is NOT JAWBREAKER.. they never will be, and that's not a bad thing. Get over it already. I strongly suggest you see this band live, they put on a great show, and seeing them live will bring a new perspective to the album that you can't get otherwise. Check out the Jade Tree website for tour information.. don't miss this show!!

This album was certainly surprising and the tone unexpected. At first I was very disappointed expecting something a little more like their first release, or like Jawbreaker's Dear You. After a few days of bitterness I gave it a chance and listened to it without my previous expectations, and realized just how amazing it is. The lyrics are powerful, clearly sprouting from a lost love, and the music, though softer, is far from a let down. The songs Mid-Day Anonymous and Orange Rhyming Dictionary are simply amazing. I strongly reccomend this cd.

Like Blake sings in 'Little Light,' are the Jets drowning in melodrama? I understand that a fiercely poetic side is being shown more and more in Blake's songs, and perhaps it's the old Jawbreaker fan coming out in me, but I did not enjoy this album as much as their first. I think Blake must have been in love when he made this one; however, despite the serious and nascent mellowness that comes out in much more use of the keyboard, there are some wonderful songs--Orange Rhyming Dictionary, Your X-rays, Pale New Dawn, Mid-Day Anonymous, a few others. A new side to the Jets emerges with each song in this album, as there is no burning and raw edge like "Morning New Disease" on Four Cornered Night, but hey, I guess the pristine vision of the artist (Your X-rays) is always changing. A good album if you enjoy the great baritone of Blake, but for first timers, be warned--this may not be what you were expecting.

Some people rag on this record because it's a major departure from Orange Rhyming Dictionary, which still had a hint of Jawbreaker in it.

Sure, with this record, that hint is totally gone. That doesn't mean that this isn't an awesome rock record. There are no weak melodies on this record. Songs like "One Summer Last Fall", "Your X-Rays..." and "Mid-Day Anonymous" are just as good as anything else Blake has written before.

Anyways, this record takes a lot of unneeded criticism.

Buy this record. You won't be disappointed. Anyone who says this record [isn't good] is just being uptight. For a rock album, this sure as hell beats out any other rock album that came out in 2000.

Ok, I will state this first: I am a huge fan of Blake's work in Jawbreaker. However, I realize this is not Jawbreaker and can't even be compared to Jawbreaker. Well maybe to "Dear You." I am making this disclaimer so some assclown doesn't criticize my review by saying "This is not Jawbreaker..get over it."

I loved Orange Rhyming Dictionary. I thought it was original, intelligent, and it rocked in some places, mellowed out in others. This CD, unfortunatly, stinks. It is uninspired, dull, and boring. There is not one track on this CD that doesn't start out like it could be great. "You're Having The Time Of My Life," "Little Light," "Milk And Apples," and "Air Traffic Control" all show promise early but soon fade into uninspired ... . I hope this is a case of "Sophomore Slump" and not a sign of things to come for this once promising band.

If I'd written this review after the first time I listened to FOUR CORNERED NIGHT, I would have given it five stars with no problem. Which is why I usually wait a while before I write reviews here. It's not that FOUR CORNERED NIGHT is bad, because it's actually incredibly good. In fact, it's still one of my favorites from 2000. But the more I listened to it, the less impressed I was with it as a WHOLE.

First, what's good about it? No doubt about it, the lyrics, which are often surprisingly sad, but always very pointed, intelligent, and full of some fantastic imagery. Compared to other bands who labor under the "emo" label, JTB's songwriting is far more advanced. It's what sets JTB apart from the crowd and makes them a band you must hear. That songwriting ability can be attributed not only to leader Blake Schwarzenbach (the singer with the great, David Lowery-with-a-sore-throat voice) but also to what is essentially an all-star, veteran group of musicians, who have always known how to move a crowd. Now they're making us think a little bit, too. FOUR CORNERED NIGHT shows JTB is maturing musically as well, as the soft, melodramatic piano of "In The Summer's When You Really Know" proves. It's an especially nice, surprising touch. My other personal favorites include "You're Having The Time Of My Life," "Little Light," "Your X-Rays...," "Milk and Apples," "Mid-Day Anonymous," and "Orange Rhyming Dictionary."

So why did FOUR CORNERED NIGHT lose its touch with me in repeated listens? Well, in some ways, the album as a whole is kind of a downer and could have used a little more humor is brighten the corners a bit. I know, I know -- you're saying, how can you praise the album for being so mature and then complain because it isn't "happy" enough? And you're right. Maybe I expect too much. But I honestly believe the challenge for JTB is balancing this newfound maturity with a little more lightheartedness. "Your X-Rays Have Come Back..." is a pretty good example of this, with sharp, biting lyrics set against a catchy, driving rock beat that builds until it absolutely soars. Great song.

All in all, FOUR CORNERED NIGHT proves JTB are challenging themselves and their fans and I, for one, believe that's a good thing. I guess everyone has to grow up sometime, even musicians.

This is a work worth waiting for; far less accessible than Orange Rhyming, but immensely and increasingly rewarding with each listen after four or five. What strikes me about this band is their unique sound...in an era of overfuzzed guitars and overdubbed vocals, JTB's sound is immaculate and refreshing. The guitars are clean, the beats are easy...at first listen, it all sounds a bit bland, but underneath is a rare and singular voice. Okay...it don't rock quite the way we're used to Blake Schwarzenbach records rocking, but the jams are there and at just the right frequency.

An excellent album, given time (and a shuffler on your CD deck!)

OK, So maybe this isn't Orange Ryhming Dictionary, but it's still damn good. It's funny because not all JTB fans like this album, because it is different from their first. But I guess those are the same folks who enjoy bands who use the same two chords with every album and simply change the lyrics. But Blake Schwarzenbach is smarter then that...

Four Cornered Night is lyrically driven with a good melodramatic beat. Sure, he could have put out another Jawbreaker type album, but I think this one is Blake trying to get away from that (not that we dont all love Jawbreaker, because we do!).

But this album does have a theme, and that seems to be it, which is why I love this disk.

How does Four Cornered Night compare to Orange Rhyming Dictionary?

Well, there was definitely more composure on ORD than FCN. I mean, there was a definite theme/flow with the first album that all but shattered into pieces on the second. Blake all but referenced this frustration on FCN, in the song "Orange Rhyming Dictionary" (confusing huh? hehe) -- "staying up all night, rubbing words but they don't take". It's like he was saying outright that whatever was successful about ORD isn't happening here. That's not to say there aren't good songs on FCN. A few that stand out are "Little light", "All things good and nice", "In the summer when you're...", and "Empty picture frame".

This album is without question a lot tamer than the first, so if you go into it understanding that this isn't a continuation of ORD; rather more like the calm that follows the lyrical storm, then you might be pleasantly surprised.

All in all, I think even making the comparision between ORD and FCN is somewhat deceiving. I mean, ORD is in a class of its own in so many ways that putting anything next to it will inevitably cast a shadow. Apples and Orange Rhyming Dictionaries. So if you could only choose one JTB album, should you get this one? Nope. But is Four Cornered Night an album worth buying? Absolutely. Why? Because Blake, "even when you're wrong, I think you're great".