It’s tougher than you think being Jimmy Eat World. They may be the much-loved elder statesmen of emo-tinged alt-rock but things still hurt and, more importantly as far as their musical output is concerned, they are a band built largely upon their limitations.
They worked out their formula 14 years ago with ‘Clarity’, which remains, and perhaps always will remain, their finest album. So where do Jimmy Eat World go next? Is there a place for them in the music scene of 2013?
In all honesty, ‘Damage’ does little to answer the first question. It’s exactly what you would expect from the band at this stage of their career. There are more ballads than there used to be; ranging from the excellent Book of Love to the painfully dull Byebyelove. And yes, all the song titles are all this bad.
The rockier aspects of their sound have now been almost completely reined in. Even when they are going for it, as on lead single I Will Steal You Back or How’d You Have Me, Jim Adkins’ voice sits suspiciously at the very top of the mix and the guitars sound overly compressed.
Yet, it doesn’t really matter. It’s never mattered. Jimmy Eat World have got where they are because they have a unique ability to write songs that are dangerously infectious.
From Blister, to A Praise Chorus, to Pain and even Always Be and My Best Theory, Jimmy Eat World have proven themselves to be consistent authors of brilliant tunes.
Is there much more that could realistically be asked for? Does anyone really want to hear Jimmy Eat World try to experiment with things that aren’t a part of their established appeal?
The answer to that question is a firm 'no', but it does have to be acknowledged that this is one of the band’s weaker releases to date. At times it sounds infuriatingly undercooked, especially in comparison to 2010’s underrated ‘Invented’, and Alain Johannes’s production job, surprisingly, seems to have resulted in a treble-soaked mulch rather than a more full-bodied sound.
With that said, when songs on this record hit, they really hit. There are moments to make you want to stop what you’re doing and belt out Adkins’ cliché-ridden lyrics at the top of your lungs. There aren’t many bands that can make you do that two decades into their career.
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