Jawbox (1996)

The D.C. quartet's fourth album provides a clinic in postpunk do's and don'ts. On 7 of the 14 songs on Jawbox, blistering guitars electrify solid melodies, roughening the edges without erasing the structure. The other seven detach the noise from such grounding, but the 15th unlisted track — a buoyant cover of Tori Amos' ''Cornflake Girl'' — tips the scales in favor of this worthy outing. B