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Jimmy Eat World chases a dimming
light
By Jon Jacobs
October 8, 2007 | When we last left Jimmy
Eat World, we found ourselves bobbing our heads
(albeit slowly) to the droned new-age-emo balladry of
the band's critically acclaimed last effort, 2004's
Futures.
Singer Jim Adkins' ethereal voice hovered over often-subdued
guitar melodies in a near-perfect mosaic of emotional
intimacy and rock action. The album's release guaranteed
the band's place as forerunners in the world of modern
emo rock.
So when Jimmy Eat World announced in 2006 that it
was working with legendary producer Butch Vig, famous
for his work with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana,
excitement levels were understandably high for the band's
followers. It seemed as though Jimmy Eat World really
would "eat the world," and its latest release,
Chase This Light (Tiny Evil label, in general
release Oct. 16), sounded perfect in theory.
Unfortunately, not all theories perform as planned
in reality, as Light seems to illustrate. The
album's opener as well as first single, Big Casino,
showcases traditional Jimmy Eat World kickoff tracks
such as Futures and Bleed American,
except featuring multi-layered guitar overdubs reminiscent
of The Smashing Pumpkins' 1993 album Siamese Dream
and an insurgence of synthesizers and vocal harmonies
layered a mile deep. "Big production for a big song,
perhaps" you find yourself thinking, yet are sadly disappointed
as Casino seems more content to simmer in the
memory than to burn.
The standard set by Casino seems ever-present
on the entirety of the album's tracks. The slick production
demands your attention, even if you're not sure which
innovative production quirk you're supposed to be focusing
on.
The guitar melodies are gigantic, stampeding your
eardrums with walls of distortion and enough punch to
knock your socks off. The vocals are accompanied by
a choir of backup harmonies seeming to beg you to be
moved emotionally. Symphonies of synthesizers, bells,
and whistles add an unfortunate flavor of modern pop
to your ears. But for every wailing, cathedral-sized
chorus, there is a reminder of the absence of the band's
prior lyrical and sensory sublimity.
The album's heavier tracks such as Firefight
and Electable (Give It Up) inflict a much-needed
set of polished, sonic hysteria, but fail to achieve
the emotive nature of the band's earlier releases. While
the calmer Futures-era ballads such as Gotta
Be Somebody's Blues grasp at the heartstrings but
end up only pulling your patience.
The lyrical nature of the album appears to intend
life-altering changes of heart and mind, yet miss their
mark on most accounts. Lyrics such as "You don't speak
for me, I am my voice, and I want to scream" feel more
reminiscent to a band with 14 months of experience instead
of 14 years.
The album is not completely lacking in standout tracks,
however. The dancy Here it Goes displays Jimmy
Eat World's ability to craft polished, clever pop tracks.
And the percussive and melodic simplicity of Let
it Happen uses the album's eccentric production
to its advantage, even if suspiciously similar to the
structure of their 2004 track Kill.
Overall, Light feels more like the product
of Butch Vig's pristine and masterful production skills
than the sixth album from Jimmy Eat World. Sonically,
the album sounds as tight as the band has ever been,
and the production makes for an enjoyable listen. Yet
too often the band seems content to allow that production
to overpower its ingenuity in song crafting.
Chase This Light is not a bad album, but
it is nothing spectacular when compared with the powerful
stature of the band's back-catalogue. Where Jimmy Eat
World seemed to want a lesson in production mastery,
it seems the band truly needed a lesson in brevity.
MS
MS
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