Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light (Interscope)
4/5
By: Matt Tomiak
The track listing of President George W. Bush's iPod was famously made public a couple of years back. Although the enduring Arizona emo-rock architects Jimmy Eat World were not included on the Commander-In-Chief's playlist (George's tastes were, unsurprisingly, less heavy on contemporary acts) Dubya might nevertheless admire a band who have made a career out of resolutely 'staying the course' and a staunch refusal to 'flip-flop'.
Now, Rockfeedback is not suggesting that Jimmy Eat World have anything in common, politically speaking, with the US's neo-con regime. But it would be fair to comment that little of substance has really altered, musically speaking, over Jimmy Eat World's six album, fifteen year lifespan. Sure enough, the febrile anthemic rush of 'Big Casino', the opening track on 'Chase This Light', shows precious little indication of a radical departure from past work: colossal, wailing Foos-ian riffs, overdrive-fuelled choruses, crystalline production values, a steadfast melodic sensibility and the increasing incongruity of the band's 30-something frotman Jim Adkins (a man whose uncanny resemblance to mid 90s TV comedy mainstay Tony Slattery grows stronger with each passing year) confessing that "There's lots of smart ideas in books I never read/when the girls come talk to me, I wish to hell I had."
Jimmy Eat World might have been together for almost as long as your average My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy aficionado has been alive, but with a combined band age of well over 100 it would still appear that the cure for the Prom Night blues remains elusive. This might pose more of a problem if Jimmy Eat World didn't rock quite so hard- which, on 'Chase This Light' they do both consistently and effectively. The aforementioned 'Big Casio' provides an uproariously fine start and sets the tone; 'Here It Goes' recalls 'The Sweetness' from 2001's eponymous LP, a perfect marriage of introspection and rowdy sports chant, whilst the sleazy, Dandy Warhols-ish 'Gotta Be Somebody's Blues' ("She's the only thing I trust/Let the virus spread...") serves up uncharacteristically scuzzed-up fun.
In establishing and maintaining their long-standing template of slick, tuneful, immediate and passionate modern rock, Jimmy Eat World have sustained a commercial and critical viability that outstrips both those bands who influenced them and, in all probability, those acts who they themselves inspired. 'Chase This Light' represents a dynamic and efficient collection, even if it might not be soundtracking any Presidential campaigns in '08....
Stream 'Big Casino' from 'Chase This Light' HERE.
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