Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World

...2001 it was originally called Bleed American, but only weeks after its release there was the atrocity at the world trade centre on September 11th, so the band changed the title.

Jimmy Eat World formed in 1993 in Arizona, and released a selection of singles and eps, and their first full length album, which was also self titled! Very confusing.
The band was then signed to Capitol Records where they released two albums, Static ...
...Clarity due to its single 'Lucky Denver Mint'

Then the band were unceremoniously dumped from the label, but instead of lying down and giving up, they worked even harder, touring all over the world, building up a fan base and writing material for an album.
The band were finally picked up by Dreamworks Records and finally got the chance to unleash their new album on the world.

The band hold Blink 182 as one of their ... more

JIMMY EAT WORLD - JIMMY EAT WORLD
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Before anyone downrates me for being off topic, id better explain why the title of the album is different from the one listed on the site, when this album was first released in 2001 it was originally called Bleed American, but only weeks after its release there was the atrocity at the world trade centre on September 11th, so the band changed the title.

Jimmy Eat World formed in 1993 in Arizona, and released a selection of singles and eps, and their first full length album, which was also self titled! Very confusing.
The band was then signed to Capitol Records where they released two albums, Static Prevails and Clarity, these were both quite well received especially Clarity due to its single 'Lucky Denver Mint'

Then the band were unceremoniously dumped from the label, but instead of lying down and giving up, they worked even harder, touring all over the world, building up a fan base and writing material for an album.
The band were finally picked up by Dreamworks Records and finally got the chance to unleash their new album on the world.

The band hold Blink 182 as one of their biggest fans, in fact Tom from Blink 182 actually got the band to perform at his wedding as he first started dating his future wife at a Jimmy Eat World gig.

BAND MEMBERS
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The band consists of

Jim Adkins - Vocals, Guitar and Percussion.
Tom Linton - Guitar and Vocals.
Rich Burch - Bass.
Zach Lind - Drums.

The album was produced by Mark Trombino, who also produced Blink 182, he also plays a few instruments here and there on the album.

Also featured on some of the songs is Rachel Haden who provides some vocals.

THE ALBUM
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The album is 11 songs long and clocks in at a respectable 46 minutes.

TRACK ONE - SALT, SWEAT, SUGAR.
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The first single from the album, and one of the first reasons people started to take notice of this band.
This opens with a crunching rocking riff, and soon builds into a catchy high paced rock tune.

The verses are all played over a simple chord patter which is nice enough to keep you interested, then the chorus kicks in with some loud guitars and crashing drums, which really should be enough to get you jumping around.

Vocally this is a good rocking solid performance, which features a nice duel vocal performance from both Jim and Tom, they sound a bit angry about something, but still quite tuneful and all in all a decent opening number.

TRACK TWO - A PRAISE CHORUS.
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Now this is more like it, even though the first tune was good, it doesn't compare with this, firstly they have stopped sounding angry, and a lot poppier, which really makes a difference.

This is fast paced and rocking, but still poppy enough to play in front of your parents, its a perfect slice of pop rock, with a catchy guitar line running throughout the tune and some drum playing that will get you playing those air drums!

The tune is simple enough, but effective where it counts, and drills itself into your head and stays there for weeks.

Vocally this is better than the first song, again mainly because they are not trying to sound angry and instead they use their normal voices which are pretty cool.
Again this features both singers and they really compliment each other very well, and make this an even more infectious song.

TRACK THREE - THE MIDDLE.
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The second single, and probably the main reason anyone has heard of this band, the song was played everywhere at the time, TOTP, MTV, Kerrang Tv, you name it this song was there!

The main reason this song was everywhere is because its another infectious slice of rock music which is quite reminiscent of the Foo Fighters and Weezer, whilst still keeping the bands own identity.

The song features another chuggy guitar based verse, which leads nicely into a contagious chorus which you really need to sing along with.

Lyrically this is a little cheesy, basically saying that people may put you down but not to worry what others think of you, okay its cheesy, but I expect its helped a few people deal with self confidence issues so it cant be bad!

TRACK FOUR - YOUR HOUSE.
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Up until fairly recently this song was quite hard for me to listen to, it was basically a song which hit a little too close to home, where Id just split with my ex girlfriend and this song basically fit everything that was going through my head at the time.

Well since that was a couple of years ago, and i now have a girlfriend that i love a lot and i feel a lot better about myself i can actually listen to this song with a different feeling, and its pretty damn good.

Musically a slow burning rock/pop song, which opens with a nice acoustic guitar tune which is soon met by a simple but nice bass line and some very soft drums.

The song features some quite emotional lyrics which give the impression that the singer has been through a fairly bad time in a relationship.
The vocals portray this very well and you can almost imagine that the singer has a tear in his eye, which gives the song a lot more atmosphere and feeling.

TRACK FIVE - SWEETNESS.
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This was also released as a single, but didn't receive quite as much air time as the previous two singles, which is a shame as it deserves to be heard.

The song opens with just the singer with no music, which instantly gets the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end.

The tune is a fairly rocking little number, with the usual fast paced guitars and crashing drums.

The vocals have a semi 80's feel to them which sounds a bit odd at first, but soon fit quite well and it all comes together into a fine catchy tune, which isn't as good as previous songs but still not a bad song at all.

TRACK SIX - HEAR YOU ME.
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So then just over halfway through the album and were at what is probably the best song in this collection.
This is a slow rock ballad, which is filled with emotion and feeling.

Musically this is a fairly simple tune, with a guitar playing a jangly tune which is accompanied by some slow precise drum beats which really drag you into the tune and give you a sense of belonging.

This is the first song on the album to feature the female vocals of Rachel Haden, and this gives a really nice contrast with Jims vocals and they work really well together.

Jims heartfelt vocals really hit a nerve with this song, sounding very passionate and full of emotion, really showing a lot of talent for his future in music.

TRACK SEVEN - IF YOU DON'T, DON'T.
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Another slice of catchy pop rock, which again has a lot of emotion and feeling to it.

This starts off with a mid tempo drum beat and some atmospheric music with the guitars just in the background, these come a bit more to the front of the track for the chorus, but again this is more about the vocals which give the song most of its melody.

Again Jim shows a lot of talent, which hopefully will continue and improve for a few years to come.
During the verses he uses a fairly quiet tone which his voice is well suited to, then during the chorus he is joined by the other vocalists in the band and shows a bit more of his rocky side.

TRACK EIGHT - GET IT FASTER.
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One thing I really like about this band is that they are not afraid to try something different, and play around with new styles and sounds.

This song starts with a very ambient sounding intro, which really draws you into the song, only during the chorus do the guitars get to come out, and when they do its fantastic, they come out blaring and heavy, which is a real contrast to the eerie ambient sounds of the verses, but it works amazingly well and shows a lot of thought and talent from the band members.

Lyrically this is a bit of a let down, with the words not really living up to the music, but luckily the vocals make them sound ten times better.

Again a nice contrast between low key vocals kicking into rocky group vocals is what makes them sound so good.

TRACK NINE - CAUTIONERS.
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The first thing i thought of when i heard this song is the old 80's NightRider TV program, this uses a bassline that is very similar to the theme music to that show, which at first sounds very cheesy, but given a couple of listens and it all seems to work.

As with the previous song this is quite a change from the rocky singles, and this is where the album stops being just a good rock album and becomes something a little special, the originality and ability shown by this band really lift them a bit higher than some of the more recent rock acts to emerge.

Jim again gets to show the better side of his voice with this sort of song, instead of trying to rock out he can focus on his more relaxed vocals which really work well.

TRACK TEN - THE AUTHORITY SONG.
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This is a sort of 50's influenced rock and roll number played by a modern day rock band, which is quite rocking and extremely catchy, although it also feels a little like a filler.

Musically the guitars get a good airing here, with a crunchy riff which is backed by some fairly low key drums and some nice percussion.

What really gives this song its identity is the duel vocal performance, with both singers giving a good showing and again complimenting each other very well.

Maybe not a great song, but certainly catchy enough for a few listens.

TRACK ELEVEN - MY SUNDOWN.
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The album ends on another one of the bands slower tunes, and another great vocal performance.

This is another slow burner, and a song that takes a few listens to truly appreciate.

Musically very simple with a selection of instruments all mixing together to form a light wall of sound, which isn't really a tune as such more a place for Jim to paint his vocals over.

Vocally this is another song that shows that Jim is better at slow ballad type songs than rocking numbers.
Here he sings very quietly and thoughtfully which gives a nice sense of atmosphere and makes a perfect album ending track.

OVERALL
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Well before I brought the album, I had only ever heard the bands rockier singles and wasn't expecting anything like the album finally turned out like.
But that's why I like this so much, as the rockier tracks quickly gave way to the well written thoughtful slower songs, songs that will always make you think instead of just being plain jump around music.

I would recommend this album to everyone, its inoffensive and full of quality music and vocals, some of the lyrics are a bit poor but they work well and when mixed with the rest of the ingredients form a very well worked out album.

Thanks for reading, please leave any comments.

Kyle.  

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