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 Artist:
Jimmy Eat World
Album:Futures
Label: Interscope
Records
Rating: 
Reviewer: John Frank
Wait, the guys who sang that “Middle” song are emo? How can
you claim that upbeat, poppy sound is emo? Well, if that hit single is
really the only experience you have with Jimmy Eat World, then you are
missing out on a lot of their true sound. Even though their last release
“Bleed American” (or self titled as it was called after the tragic events
of 9/11) had some faster, more pop sounding anthems such as “The Middle”,
“Bleed American”, and “The Sweetness”; JEW is an emo sounding band at
heart, stretching back to their previous releases such as “Clarity” and
“Static Prevails”. This album is supposed to bridge the gap in the sounds
of their pop rock with the heartfelt ballads that they started out
producing.
The opening song, “Futures”, sounds like it is going
to head into the direction of “Bleed American”, but it sounds amazing. I
actually got a copy of this disc before the single was releases and was
shocked to find out that it was not the chosen single. While I cannot
judge the rest of the album off of this track, I will not be disappointed
if they continue this trend and follow the sound of the song. Well, the
second song “Just Tonight” is definitely a slower sound, and like a great
transition song after the upbeat opener. The next few songs are not stand
out in themselves, but they run together almost seamlessly: attaining the
sound that fuses the emo past of the band with the more pop/rock sound of
their new releases. Basically the verses are very drawn out, presenting
the message of the words, and showing the great vocals, and the choruses
bring in the quick guitars and catchy melodies.
However, right in the middle of the album, two very
catchy, quick songs are presented (“Jenny” and the current single “Pain”).
While the album was progressing very well without the pop sounds, these
tracks get your enthusiasm back up so as not to discourage casual fans
from listening all the way through. “Pain” is definitely a song that is
going to gain popularity on the radio and MTV, it manages to deliver the
sound of the album, and a similar style to their other successes without
sounding redundant.
After this intermission of faster songs, the album
turns again to a slower paced emo sound and maintains this pace for the
remainder of the disc. This is often interpreted as a bad thing, as many
artists will lose the interest of many fans and their CD will tail off
into a dead end. However, JEW is able to present a very good emo album in
this last half. I generally am not a huge fan of emo, as it all starts to
sound the same to me, but the vocals and the lyrics match up almost
perfectly in this work, and will be appreciated by many who enjoy this
genre, and a few who don’t. This album is probably the best work Jimmy Eat
World could have produced at this point in the their career. If it was
indeed their goal to mix the different sounds of their span as a band,
they succeeded. While this isn’t the best album of the year, and it is not
flawless, it was the right sound at the right time for these guys. While
many bands who find success with a certain sound will stick to it whether
it is their true sound as a band or not; this band decided to retain the
heart that was in the music when they started out and mix it with their
popular sound to produce something that I hope they are very proud of.
This is a great album for a person who yet to hear of Jimmy Eat World, it
hits every sound they are capable of doing well. Since I am not a huge fan
of the band and haven’t followed them for a decade, I can’t say for sure
whether this will please a hardcore fan of the band, but I would imagine
any fan of the band would appreciate the effort placed in this CD.
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