Blake Schwarzenbach is finally happy.

You might not know it from the beginning of Four Cornered Night, but by the last line of the album, it's clear that the master of dark, tortured relationships has managed to turn that frown upside down: "I love you, stranger. It might not always show/ There's a lot of good in you, I know."

Excuse me?

Is this the same Blake Schwarzenbach who wrote songs with titles such as "I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both" and lyrics like "Throw myself at your feet/ You know it's to be walked on"?

Well, yes and no. Schwarzenbach has grown a lot since his days fronting San Francisco Bay Area pop-punk icons Jawbreaker, moving both musically and lyrically away from that group's anguished, emotive take on the love song. The shift was evident on Orange Rhyming Dictionary, the first release from his post-Jawbreaker band, Jets to Brazil, and it's even more obvious on Four Cornered Night.

Though Schwarzenbach claims that this latest effort is "an American record," musically, this album reflects the band's often un-American influences more than almost any other. After all, "Air Traffic Control" opens with a vintage Revolver-era Beatles riff, and the main guitar line from "Milk & Apples" could have been written by AC/DC's Angus Young on one of his mellower days.

Lyrically, Four Cornered Night is also a step in a different — but not necessarily better — direction. There are few artists who can write a good rhyme about happiness; thankfully, Schwarzenbach avoids the usual pitfalls.

But the Biblical imagery of the song "*******" comes out of left field. You just don't expect "And the armies flew upon the Earth/ The locusts rose with the scorpions/ And we were sealed according to our deeds/ Joy, joy, for I was received" from this guy.

Still, like much of the album, the song is undeniably catchy. And it appears that Schwarzenbach doesn't take his Prozac every day — standout tracks like "You're Having the Time of My Life" and "Empty Picture Frame" showcase a familiar melancholy sensibility.

Four Cornered Night is a definite departure for Schwarzenbach, but it's worthwhile nonetheless. Note to Blake: The therapy appears to be working. — Patrick Enright

 
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