“jimmy_eat_world”
Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World EP
Fueled By Ramen
Jimmy Eat World
Clarity
Big Wheel Recreation/Capitol
I’ve noticed a pattern with me and Jimmy Eat World releases where I just don’t like them at first, the exceptions being their very first full-length and their various seven inches and splits. The pattern was first established on their last full-length, their first for Capitol. At first I hated it, probably due to the fact that they had undergone a drastic change since their first album. I threw the tape in a corner and forgot about it. Later, I hear this album I love at a friend’s. Turns out it’s the same album I had thrown in a corner. How weird. I dug it out and fell in love with it.
The Jimmy Eat World EP came out a while ago. Once again, I didn’t care for it much when I first heard it. I’m not sure why. I set it aside, but these melodies kept creeping in my head. I finally figured out who those melodies belonged to, and I have to say I love this EP. Two of their best songs start this off and the other three songs are good as well, “Softer” in particular.
Enter Clarity , the new full-length. It’s been out for a while, but I’ve been trying to give myself some time to digest it given my past history. Right now, I have to say I have mixed feelings. There are a few songs I like a lot (two from the EP), but the rest has me yawning, uninterested. Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true. I find a lot of the recording aspects of it interesting. They’ve utilized layers and layers of sound, adding strings, keys, extra vocal harmonies, electronics and such. It’s all well woven together. I’m especially impressed by the very last, very long track, which utilizes repetition and layers upon layers of sound. But even as I’m impressed by a lot of the studio aspects of this, I must say that a lot of the songs just don’t catch me at all. Jimmy Eat World’s emo rock has been very polished for a while now, but has always had some certain element that has hooked me in spite of myself. This time, I just don’t hear that element. I realize that the pattern suggests that I will fall for this record later. I don’t see that happening this time. I gave myself some time with this and again and again came up with the same conclusions. It’s not that I particularly don’t like it, it’s just that it doesn’t hook me in. I don’t have any burning desire to put this record on.
Fueled By Ramen Records, P.O. Box 12563, Gainesville, FL 32604; http://www.dyve.com/fbr
