Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light

Jimmy Eat World, the little band that could since the mid-90s, have trekked to areas their emo and punk rock contemporaries wouldn’t go. They’ve dared to evolve and grow when the rest of the emo world was reveling in their pain and suffering. Emo is, after all, the domain of the adolescent, and that description doesn’t fit Jimmy Eat World anymore. It hasn’t for a while. Unlike Dashboard Confessional and My Chemical Romance, they’re not trying to pretend they’re still sad, tortured and tormented.

JEW’s last album, Futures, was a near-perfect mix of intensity, softness, danger, and cosmic beauty. It was kind of an accident, sure, but I think anything that marvelously wonderful has to have a certain amount of “we weren’t aiming there, but okay” to it. Chase This Light seems to have gone back to the frenetic energy that made Bleed American so wildly successful. While the beauty of Futures was splendid, it’s probably good that it was left behind. An album as spectacular as Futures really can’t be duplicated. Something as simple as the straight-ahead approach of Bleed American can, though, and the band does a pretty good job with Chase This Light.

The album starts off with a bang with “Big Casino.” Though this is really the best song on here, it doesn’t feel as though JEW has spent their wad early. “Big Casino” features great and thoughtful lyrics, and an exciting beat that borders on nervous. Like I said, the measured and subtle tone of Futures is generally gone, though one can see it has been learned from. “Let It Happen” sounds a lot like the previous track, but not as hooky. In general, this album is more simple-minded and focused than previous efforts. “Carry You” and “Dizzy” slow the pace down just slightly, trading acoustic guitars for bombast, though they retain that insistent beat that permeates almost the whole record. The only slow and moody song on the record is “Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues,” which has an echoing undercurrent that lends it a sense of danger on the edge of your senses. This is a very nice break to an otherwise one-note record, and were it not there, that would get very old.

“Feeling Lucky” and “Electable (Give It Up)” are slight throwbacks to JEW’s early days, only a lot less sloppy. Many people have lamented that Jimmy Eat World has gotten more polished and professional, leaving behind the youthful exuberance of their past. The way I see it, with that youthful exuberance came sloppiness and mess. Yes, they played with fervor, but they played like total amateurs. I like this tighter, cleaner approach much better. Not only do they sound better, but the fervor isn’t gone at all. “Electable” proves that they can play with a glossy sheen and still kick out the jams like they used to. Producer Butch Vig (he produced two grunge classics, Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream and Nirvana’s Nevermind) definitely likes the glossy sheen, and uses it liberally.

“Here It Goes” seems a little too youthful, and comes off as immature. And “Firefight” is a good song, but demonstrates that JEW is a little afraid of branching out. Futures was treated with as much scorn as praise by critics (I honestly can’t imagine why…), so they’re obviously retreating a little. While that’s fine for now, I sincerely hope they go back to the melancholy exploration of Futures. As it stands, they seem to have taken a step back. Chase This Light is a bit of a let down after that excellent album, but I don’t think it would have been if it followed Bleed American; it’s a logical extension of it. Luckily, they were stepping from something great to something good, and it wasn’t a very big step down. Also luckily, Smashing Pumpkins have taught me that my favorite bands very often don’t live up to my expectations, and that’s okay.

Prime Cuts:
Big Casino
Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues
Feeling Lucky
Always Be

22 Rating: 13