When people think of the band Jimmy Eat World (and by people, I mean the average music enthusiast, not hardcore fans), the tune of "The Middle" pops into their head, and they envision a pop-rock band from eight years ago, not knowing that they've since released two amazing records, and before had three others less noticed. True, the hit single did land them in the realm of stardom, allowing many, me included, passage to their great music. But after Bleed American (since retitled simply Jimmy Eat World), and the follow-up hit album Futures, comes their best record yet in Chase This Light, which was released in October of 2007 (but never too old to review it).
What stands out so much about this album, at least to me, is how easy it is to listen to. Not one song comes across to me as least favorite, but rather each song begs to be my favorite after each listen. Furthermore, not only does it flow incredibly from song to song, they all sound amazingly happy-- that is, as the sun begins to shine increasingly more in beautiful Oregon, I can listen to the entire album through over and over while never ceasing to smile and bang my head in time. Currently, and probably for a long time, my true favorite song is "Always Be", whose chorus is just so uplifting that I can't help but mouth the lyrics every time they come up. But, as I said, each song is so great that to choose a favorite is meaningless. It's followed by "Carry You", which seems to get better as the song goes on, and hits a peak as the last chorus ends-- this is typically where Jimmy Eat World (or JEW for short) is at their best, when the song has been building for a few minutes, they seem to just outdo themselves and an explosion of emotion breaks out.
The song to follow this one, "Electable (Give it Up)", again repeats my frustration, a very catchy lyric repeating "give it up!" throughout the song. "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" is kind of jammed in between the ten faster, upbeat, songs, but not to say that it is out of place. The song alone demands respect with its attention to detail, a great skill JEW employs throughout their softer songs, adding to them beautiful lyrics, and some cool effects to brighten them up. "Feeling Lucky" acts as sort of a reprise of "Let it Happen" or "Electable", retreating to the upbeat pop-rock song, and again employing great harmony vocals. "Here it Goes", along with "Chase This Light", and "Firefight", act as great builder-ups to the finale-- each have very catchy choruses, particularly "Here It Goes". "Dizzy", the last track, is the dream of all pop-rock drummers (like me), not too fast, but not too slow, a perfect tempo to play to. If I had to choose a 2nd favorite, it might be this song-- not only does it use great drum technique, the lyrics are great, the chord progression is perfect, and like all JEW songs, the chorus is just right for the rest of the song. I especially enjoy the lyrics, "I tried, but it rang and rang / I called all night. On a pay-phone, remember those / from another life."
I highly recommend this album, along with the rest of their discography. But personally, having been a fan of theirs for a long time, and being well versed in their collection, I love this album the most. I cannot stress enough how well this album plays together, from start to finish-- not a moment of dissatisfaction, not a second of displeasure, just insanely catchy, pop-rocky genius for 40 minutes straight. And what's not to love about that?
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