Jimmy Eat World - Futures
So last night, one of my favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World, announced via Twitter that their new album is done. This marks their first album since 2007’s Chase This Light. This album also marks the first time that JEW have released a full album with producer Mark Trombino since their break-out release Bleed American in 2001. In the band’s words, it’s “An old alliance made new”. Trombino did their first 3 albums and a batch of demos for Futures. The band decided, for one reason another, to discontinue their working relationship with Trombino and worked with equally seasoned producer Gil Norton.
While I would’ve loved to hear the sound and direction that Trombino would’ve taken with the tracks on Futures, part of me couldn’t imagine things any differently. While there are some admittedly sub-par moments on the album (“The World You Love” is just OK, “Just Tonight” is forgettable), some of their most magical moments appear on this album.
In one of my personal favorite tracks, Jim Adkins sings on “Polaris”, “When you go I’ll let you be/But you’re killing everything in me”, and you know the guy means (and probably bled) every word of that. The radio-friendly songs are more mature than in previous albums to be sure, but they’re still very singable and accessible. I have had the chance to see the band numerous times over the past 6 years or so and you simply can’t help but sing and shout along during numbers like the radio single “Pain” and the title track “Futures”. And then there’s the closer, of course. “23” is arguably one of the best songs they’ve ever written, and guaranteed to be a “coming of age” song for years to come.
I’ve attached with this post an interesting vinyl-only track that never made it on the proper CD version. I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up the double LP to find an extra track called “Shame”. It’s dark, moody and guaranteed to get in your head. I can see why it maybe doesn’t fit on the proper album, but it’s by no means a forgettable track.
I can’t help but think that after doing the Clarity tour in 2009 and reuniting with the producer that helped sparked their initial magic that we may hear some very interesting things on this next album. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
In the meantime, spend some time reacquainting yourself with some of Jimmy Eat World’s old material. Are there any standout tracks in their catalog that trigger any great (or not so great) memories for you?
