Lockjaw
Album
ArtistDance Hall Crashers
CoverDHC Lockjaw.jpg
ReleasedAugust 29, 1995[1]
Recorded1995
Studio
Genre
Length40:52
Label(510) Records[2]
Producer
Prev year1990
Next year1997

Lockjaw is the second studio album by American rock band Dance Hall Crashers.[3][4] Produced by the band, Stoker, and Rob Cavallo, the album was released on August 29, 1995, in the United States by (510) Records, an imprint of MCA Records.

Background

"Go" was previously released as a cassette single in early 1994 exclusively to Hawaii.[5] A 2024 limited re-release of the album, described by the band as a 29½th anniversary release, includes the unreleased songs "American Dream" and "Footsteps," along with "Punk Rock Boy" and "Truly Comfortable" from the 1998 EP Blue Plate Special.[6] During live performances of "Enough", the line "just shut up and make it right" is replaced with "shut the fuck up and make it right." Two songs appear in films: "Enough" in the 1995 film Angus and "Don't Wanna Behave" in the 1996 film Bio-Dome.[7]

Critical reception

Pemberton Roach of AllMusic called Lockjaw a "wonderful reminder of the original spirit of ska-punk," elaborating that "Rather than celebrate the meathead/frat boy misogyny and overly simplistic anarchistic politics that have plagued a lot of 'third-wave' ska and punk-pop, Dance Hall Crashers choose to throw a big ol' party."[8] Trouser Press considered the album "a marvelous surge of mature and catchy power pop accented with punk juice and set—almost incidentally—to a breathless bluebeat."[9] Music critic Gina Arnold described the dual vocals of Elyse Rogers and Karine Deniké as "reminiscent of the '80s group Bananarama." She classified the album as "utterly frothy," while noting that several songs were "fun but lacking in depth."[2] John Everson of the Southtown Star gave the album a perfect rating, claiming Lockjaw as "the funniest album I've heard so far this year."[10] In contrast, an unspecified critic from the Oakland Tribune gave the album a 1 out of 5 rating, blaming its shortcomings on Green Day's former managers who signed the band to (510) Records. While the critic disparaged the vocals and song choices, notably "Queen for a Day" and "We Owe," they praised the guitar work of Jason Hammon and Scott Goodell on the latter track and "Sticky."[11]

Personnel

Information adapted from liner notes.[12]

Dance Hall Crashers

  • Elyse Rogers – vocals, management, production
  • Karina Deniké – vocals, production
  • Jason Hammon – guitar, gang vocals, production
  • Scott Goodell – guitar, gang vocals, production
  • Mikey Weiss – bass guitar, gang vocals, production
  • Gavin Hammon – drums, percussion, gang vocals, production

Additional musicians

Production

  • Stoker – production
  • Rob Cavallo – production on "Enough"
  • Jeff Saltzman – A&R
  • Frank Rinella – recording engineer
  • Jerry Finn – mixing engineer
  • Neill King – recording engineer on "Enough"
  • Brian Gardner – mastering engineer
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering engineer on "Enough"

Artwork

  • "SCANO" – art direction, illustration
  • Dave Merkley – DHC logo

Charts

Chart (1995)Peak position
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[13]8

See also

References

  1. ^ Rosen, Craig (November 18, 1995). "New, Aggressive Ska Returns to Modern Rock". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 15, 24. – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Arnold, Gina (September 17, 1995). "Dance Hall Crashers Lead Ska Revival". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 254. Retrieved May 31, 2026. – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Boehm, Mike (January 13, 1996). "Crashers' Course: Dance Hall's Path Furthers Young America's Education in a Hybrid of Ska-Pop-Punk". latimes.com. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  4. ^ Thompson, Dave (June 22, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076. – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Berger, John (April 1, 1994). "Crash and Yearn". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 17. Retrieved May 31, 2026. – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Lockjaw - DHC Limited Edition 2 Disc Vinyl". dancehallcrashers.com. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  7. ^ Minge, Jim (February 4, 1996). "Dance Hall Crashers Like to Cut Loose on Stage". Omaha World-Herald. p. 148. Retrieved May 31, 2026. – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Roach, Pemberton. "Review: Lockjaw". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  9. ^ Robbins, Ira. "Dance Hall Crashers". trouserpress.com. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  10. ^ Everson, John (September 21, 1995). "Dance Hall Crashers: Lockjaw (510/MCA)". Southtown Star. p. 60. Retrieved May 31, 2026. – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Dance Hall Crashers - 'Lockjaw,' (510 Records/MCA) (Review)". Oakland Tribune. September 3, 1995. p. 44. Retrieved May 31, 2026. – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Lockjaw. US: (510) Records. 1995. FTD-11326.
  13. ^ "Lockjaw Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 31, 2026.