Jimmy Eat World "Futures" (Interscope Records)
Sounds Like: Jimmy Eat World bit off more than they could chew.
C+
"Kill" and "Pain" are words probably never before linked with Jimmy Eat World, the band owing a healthy chunk of its popularity to those carefree teenagers dancing around in their underwear in the video for the 2001 hit, "The Middle." And yet, "Futures," Jimmy Eat World's follow-up to their platinum-selling 2001 self-titled album, serves up tracks like "Kill," "Pain" and "Drugs or Me."
Jimmy Eat World has some rough, serious stories to tell in this new album, but the problem is that the band still has the same soft emo heart.
When Jimmy Eat World sang platitudes in "A Praise Chorus" on their last album, it was forgivable because their candid idealism was actually refreshing. But now, they use their signature style as a vehicle for a stack of generic grievances that whine sullenly and often unimpressively.
While there are tracks on this album that can annoy even the stereo speakers, "Futures" is not a failure. Amid the oversized rock phrasing and psychiatrist chair lyrics that assault the listener for most of this album, "The World You Love" feels like a comfortable refuge. With this song, Jimmy Eat World proves that they haven't lost the knack for what they're good at - making clich?s of both style and expression new and palatable.
This is no talent to take lightly. It's what made their self-titled previous album not only an acclaimed staple for a whole bunch of teenage girls, but also a closet favorite for many other, less impressionable music fans. And the popularity of that album also helped lots of people discover 1999's "Clarity," arguably Jimmy Eat World's best and most dynamic album to date.
The last track on "Futures," "23," jumps from the album as if trying to free itself, sounding surprisingly like The Cure. This song uses melodic and lyrical tensions to reveal the push-pull of inner conflict with agility that simply can't be found in most of the other songs on this album. Here, at the end of the album, is proof that Jimmy Eat World is capable of conveying complexity.
If "Futures" makes listeners nostalgic for Jimmy Eat World's more promising past, "23" might be the light at the end of a tunnel of letdown.
Songs that reveal pain don't have to be painful to listen to, and they can be interesting. Jimmy Eat World has shown ability in turning the sweet things in life into apt and beautiful music, but they have a lot to learn before they can make sense - or sensation - out of the sour.
