MSN 8.30.01

   It's been a long, hard road out of the desert for the exceptional Mesa, Arizona quartet known as Jimmy Eat World. After a few years off and a rocky relationship with their previous record company, the band that once started out in high school as a Metallica cover band has just released Bleed American, their finest record to date, and their first for the DreamWorks label.

   Jimmy Eat World may be cursed with a terrible band name and a bout of terrible luck, but they've always persevered. After the release of 1996's Static Prevails and 1999's Clarity, Jimmy Eat World was dropped from the Capitol Records roster at the peak of their creativity. Rather than be deterred by their lack of a major label in their back pocket, the band headed back into the studio and financed the recording of Bleed American themselves. Thankfully, the bigwigs at DreamWorks snatched up the record, giving Jimmy Eat World a second chance (or perhaps a third) at that ever elusive rock & roll brass ring.

   The band has evolved nicely from their West Coast punk roots into the Emo powerhouse they are today. Combining the power of Sunny Day Real Estate with the fragility of Mazzy Star, Jimmy Eat World aren't afraid to take chances and push the boundaries of what a band with punk roots can do. Bleed American is Jimmy Eat World's most commercial record to date, but it's also their strongest. The band have finally found the right balance of sonic gloss and pop sensibility, and the addition of Rachel Haden's (that dog) vocal harmonies on several songs, including the record's delicate finale "My Sundown," is a welcome surprise. Much of the record's success can be attributed to producer Mark Trombino, whose syncopated drum programming shines over many of the album's 11 tracks, and whom Blink-182 hired to produce their 1997 album Dude Ranch after hearing his work with JEW.

   The songs on Bleed American climb over mountains and descend through valleys, reaching their summit near the middle of the record with the back-to-back love songs, "Hear You Me" and "If You Don't, Don't." The heartfelt lyrics and honest melodies of these two songs best encapsulate the spirit of Jimmy Eat World in a knockout jab-hook combination. The record winds down with the aforementioned "My Sundown" and a tribute to the small-town jukebox, called "The Authority Song." Jimmy Eat World are a beautiful oxymoron. The band is the equivalent of a strange man in one ballet shoe and one Doc Marten.

by: DAVID LAKE (MSN Music - August 30, 2001)

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