Perfecting Loneliness

Perfecting Loneliness is the third and final studio album by American rock band Jets to Brazil. Vocalist/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach spent six weeks at his mother's farm in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he worked on new material. In early 2002, the group recorded their next album with J. Robbins. The band went on a pre release US tour in June and July, leading up to the release of Perfecting Loneliness on October 15 through independent label Jade Tree. The group had planned to promote it with a tour, however, due to an illness, the tour was delayed until mid 2003. By this point, a music video had been filmed for "Cat Heaven" and drummer Chris Daly was replaced by Matt Torrey.

After being delayed twice, Four Cornered Night saw release in September 2000 through independent label Jade Tree. It was supported with two US tours; during the latter of these, in early 2001, the group premiered new material, including the tracks "William Tell Override" and "Loose Candy". It was recorded in April and May 2002 with J. Robbins.

Musically, the sound of Perfecting Loneliness has been described as folk pop Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan wrote that Schwarzenbach ""shed his punk roots in all but spirit, and was instead focused on spacious, soaring indie rock with the occasional foray into alt country, heartland rock, and sweeping balladry". Schwarzenbach's vocals on the album have been referred to as a mix of Joey Ramone, Cracker frontman David Lowery and Teenage Fanclub frontman Norman Blake. "Cat Heaven" was written for Schwarzenbach's cat Chinatown, who became ill and died. Schwarzenbach said the arabesque guitarwork was based on "Clap Hands" (1985) by Tom Waits. It discusses loneliness, alongside humanity and the urge to fix life's problems.

In June and July 2002, Jets to Brazil went on a US tour, dubbed Fill in the Gaps Tour '02. They were supported by Pilot to Gunner and the Love Scene; for the stint, John Merguth joined Jets to Brazil to help perform the new songs in a live setting. Perfecting Loneliness was released on October 15 through Jade Tree. The band had intended to promote it with a US headlining tour in October and November, however, on the day of the first show, the whole tour was cancelled due to an illness in the band. The group self directed a music video for the track "Cat Heaven". On January 9, 2003, Schwarzenbach revealed he had spent the preceding six weeks recuperating in Canada. In the same announcement, he said drummer Chris Daly had left the group. He felt that the band had "run its course, and ceased to be fun/rewarding for me", and wanted to find a more stable profession. Matt Torrey, formerly of MK Ultra, was announced as their new drummer on March 12, 2003. Between May and July, the band toured across the US on the Throwdown 2003 tour, with support from John Vanderslice. Additional shows were added into late July, with dates in Canada.

Perfecting Loneliness received a mainly positive reception from music critics. Ox Fanzine Joachim Hiller said the record "fully met my expectations." AllMusic reviewer Charles Spano noted the "deeper instrumentation, undone piano melodies, and larger than life orchestration", which the group used to "turn intimate observations into moments of transcendent grandeur." Soundthesirens founder Billy Ho said called the album "an intricate, yet simplistic record – a perfect accompaniment to their two previous efforts", complimenting the call backs to their first two albums. Sputnikmusic staff member Tyler Fisher said that despite the group toing the "line of bland here and there", the music is, at times, "perfectly beautiful." The staff at Impact Press noted that long term fans of the band "will melt over this release while new fans will be absorbed by the skill at which Blake can effortlessly carry a song over a variety of musical styles". Louis Miller of CMJ New Music Report said the "lushly arranged" collection saw the group crafting "stellar, yet humble songs that quite often develop into six and seven minute epics." In Music We Trust co founder Alex Steininger saw the album as the band's "swan song, a diverse, cohesive collection of songs that come from the same stem" as their previous works, "but branch off and survive on their own". PopMatters writer Adam Dlugacz said album "immediately addresses some of the problems that were prevalent" on Four Cornered Night, however, by the midway point, things became "absolutely inexplicable to me. Just when you think they've turned the corner, they turn into Chicago, complete with cheesy progressions that are supposed let you know how much they care." While noting the album's long length, Ultimate Guitar found the release less personal than Four Cornered Night with more obscurity in the lyrics. Despite the lack of "immediate emotional impact", it had "moments of greatness." In a negative review for Pitchfork, Eric Carr wrote that it was a "sad example of a few decent arrangements being recycled and regurgitated until, by the end of the album", with nothing "left but pre chewed, partially digested gunk." Stylus Magazine Todd Burns highlighted Schwarzenbach's lyrics as being the sole highlight on the record, though with no "audible signs of innovation or progression." He found the music "so entirely lacking"; the release failing to deliver "the one two punch of lyric and music."