We all have those bands: the ones we have been listening to since the beginning, the ones we have been rooting for against MTV commercialization and pop culture, the ones we defended when our friends told us "give it up, they suck." And, when our band comes out with a new album, we hurry to buy it, eager to cheer for their maturation and continual production in the face of today's deflating music industry.
Jimmy Eat World is one my favorite bands to cheer for. I love Clarity; I still listen to Bleed American; I was more than impressed with Futures. J.E.W. (an odd acronym, considering the rumors that Jimmy Eat World had foundations in Christian rock) is a band that has delivered consistently. So you can imagine my slight disappointment when I listened to their new album, Chase This Light, and wanted to skip every other song.
This is not to say Chase This Light is a complete failure. It shows promise; the opening tracks, "Big Casino" and "Always Be" sound like they should be on the 2004 Futures. Jimmy Eat World is a band that has always painted teenage angst realistically -- from a perspective more mature than typical "mad-at-my-dad" emo bands of today. Unfortunately, despite their attempts at resistance (atypical sounds, unconventional production, "new-punk" foundations), they have been lumped in with other emo bands that pride themselves on establishing style over music.
Chase This Light has glimpses of the resistant nature of the band. "Lucky Feeling" attempts to do what "Authority Song" on Bleed American did: acknowledge their place in pop music without submitting to a preconceived form of production. And their stab at a political stance in "Electable (Give It Up)" sounds like Futures' title track. It's an ambiguous call to action without limiting itself to party lines or causes. This was my favorite thing about Futures (and what I wanted out of Chase This Light), although at least "Electable" delivers some of it: "Not my name / you don't speak for me / I am my voice / and I want to scream."
Aside from resisting the limits of their unfortunate genre (emo) and employing their voice for America's youth as a call for change, Jimmy Eat World is one of those bands that has really amazing moments in music, moments that have left listeners replaying the same song over and over. Songs like "Goodbye Sky Harbor" from Clarity and "My Sundown" from Bleed American are those moments. The production is incredible; the lyrics are thoughtful; and the harmony is beyond perfect. Futures lacked in this sense, and I anticipated a return to the creation of these moments in Chase This Light. Of the mere 11 songs, though, not one showed a sliver of this.
It seems like this is a result of the production, not the band. Producer Mark Trombino helped in the recording of both Clarity and Bleed American, and the band left him for Gil Norton with Futures and, in a big jump from their beginnings, Butch Vig with Chase This Light. The change is apparent in the shortness of the songs and the emphasis on rock production over technical remixing. Vig, known for his work with rock giants like The Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage (he was the drummer), has moved Jimmy Eat World in a different direction than their earlier work. The themes, imagery, realism and teenage angst are all there, but they all exist behind heavy guitar and rock 'n' roll rather than harmony and thoughtful production.
Die-hard Jimmy Eat World fans will find this disappointing. Some of us would rather spend our days wallowing in the amazing execution of sound in the band's earlier albums, but others will find Chase This Light a step in the right direction. I must admit, I was a little put off when I opened the CD and found an advertisement for Chase This Light ringtones on the inside cover. I thought, "Well, Clarity Jimmy Eat World wouldn't stand for that!" But as a J.E.W. fan, I can't speak too negatively of them. Is Chase This Light worth buying? Maybe. Downloadable? Definitely. Save yourself the money and see if you can get a Bleed American ringtone instead.
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