Judging The Jaws of Life by its cover, I came to expect music with high amounts of drama, something with lots of dynamic movement, and maybe something a bit on the emo side. Let me tell you, that expression about judging books by their cover also applies to music on compact discs. I struck out on all three counts, well more like two and a half; Fine China mentions hearts, kisses, and crying, but I was expecting something stylistically different.

Instead of discordant guitars, a moderate to fast pace, and prominent, somewhat whiney vocals, I got something a bit janglier, moderately paced but slow in feel, and vocals that come across so timid that they fail to evoke any sort of emotion. With this in mind, I realized that you also cannot judge an album by its press sheet. According to Fine China's bio, the group has "consistently crafted [perfect pop] songs" evoking "The Smiths, The Jam, [and] New Order". While "The Cells Divide", "My Worst Nightmare", and most other tracks on the album display the influence of the artists mentioned on Fine China, the Tempe, Arizona group doesn’t quite achieve the same level of pop perfection.

This isn't to say that the band doesn't display any sense of pop sensibility. Throughout The Jaws of Life glimpses of Fine China's potential reveal themselves, but the group never seems to be able to manifest this potential for a substantial amount of time. No single musical element takes charge of the compositions to offer a focal point for the listener leading to an end result that is a combination of subdued instrumental arrangements and overly timid vocals that fail to engage any audience.