A Cop-Out!

I have a couple writing assignments due soon so without further adieu...... a guest review! Emily Senerth writes about Jimmy Eat World's newest album Chase This Light!

I heard the Jimmy Eat World album ‘Chase This Light’ for the first time about a week ago. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that my previous experience with this band is limited to the radio play of their single ‘The Middle’ in 2001, despite ‘Chase This Light’ being their sixth album. I think someone tried to introduce me to their mid-90s stuff when they hit the mainstream, but I’d be lying if I said I was paying attention.

My first impressions of these songs after an initial run-though are as follows: This album is fairly consistent with my preconceptions of what the band would sound like. Every track is guitar-driven, with a pulsing guitar chord beating just beneath the vocals and establishing the energy of the instrumentals. Despite being perhaps the most distinctive musical element, the guitar sounds [though probably isn’t] fairly simple, but somehow is not boring. Another thing I noticed almost immediately is that, despite the band’s possible intentions, no track distinguishes itself as a single. I was pleased to observe the absence of any contrived melodic ‘hooks.’ On the other hand, the musical landscape of ‘Chase This Light’ is cohesive almost to the point of being monotonous. This is not a CD that I would seek out in a playlist of 100+ songs, however, there isn’t a song I would skip over either.

After going though the album again, I began to hear the lyrics a bit more. They are generally optimistic little snippets of life as a young, middle class, introspective suburbanite. I will refrain from using the word ‘emo’ because that label is totally played out at this point, though I’m sure some would characterize ‘Chase This Light’ that way. Overall, I wasn’t a fan of their word choice as it tended to be trite and occasionally nonsensical. Fortunately, it’s not hard to let the vocals fade into the larger sound of each track.

I found it difficult to review individual tracks because- as I mentioned before- they are by and large very similar, all being consistent with the Jimmy Eat World aesthetic. The songs best distinguish themselves when listened to side-by-side. In a close comparison, nuances in the composition are recognizable, but do not interfere with the overall continuity of the album. This is not, in my opinion, a CD of disjointed Top-40 singles produced by Pharell Williams for some token alt rock band like Fall Out Boy. Rather, it’s a purposefully unpolished, occasionally soulful collection of riffs on the band’s established talents and distinctive sound. If you like Jimmy Eat World, you will enjoy this album. In fact, the more I listened to ‘Chase This Light,’ the more I enjoyed it.

That being said, here are my highlights and lowlights:

Highlights - Big Casino [First track starts the album off on a high note, sets the tone for the rest of the listening 'journey'], Feeling Lucky [a relief after the dragging Gotta Be Somebody's Blues], Here It Goes [I enjoyed the harmonizing of the vocals here], Firefight [my personal favorite, good balance between the dissonant vocals and guitar, steps outside the 'I'm a teenager with big dreams' trope and exhibits a little more imagination, demands attention]

Lowlights - Carry You [Slows the overall tempo, somewhat maudlin, not my favorite song], Gotta Be Somebody's Blues [they're trying for eerie and searching, but miss the mark by overshooting], Chase This Light [as the title track, I had some expectations for this song that were not realized by the actual piece, it was one of the cornier tracks on the album]

Finally, not a matter of opinion is that ‘Chase This Light’- like any music worth listening to- should be listened to at top volume; preferably while driving fast, walking through a crowd, or doing some soul-sucking chore like emptying the dishwasher. It might get you a noise complaint from the neighbors, but it will be worth it.

If you enjoy this album, I would recommend Angels and Airwaves, Shiny Toy Guns, and Mates of State.