Bivouac

AMG Review of Bivouac

John Dougan
All Music Guide

Listening to Jawbreaker is likely to get you thinking about countless other grunge/thrash pop bands, from Nirvana to Sugar to Helmet. That shouldn't scare you away from Bivouac...Guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach is a ferocious string mauler who adds deft twists and turns to his ultra-loud rush of chords, vocalizing in a scream/sing/shout manner...Bivouac is for the most part a faster and louder proposition defined by speedy guitar raunch and smart (smartalecky?) songwriting. "Chesterfield King" is a wonderful boy-meets-girl story rife with understated awkwardness and sexual tentativeness, while "Tour Song" succinctly and accurately sums up the pros and cons of gigging...