I lost track of Jimmy Eat World over the years so I’ve been listening to Invented with not much more than the somewhat distant memory of Bleed American as a foundation for the band’s sound. I always cite the Foo Fighters as a band that can write a near-perfect alt- pop song but Jimmy Eat World needs to be on this list as well. When the band is firing on all cylinders, their hooks are memorable.

Invented is the band’s seventh disc (Interscope) and marks the return of producer Mark Trombino. This seems to be a big deal in the music press but, as I never heard the band without Trombino, I don’t have a frame of reference to comment.

Keeping fans busy, there are a couple different editions of Invented. The "deluxe" version contains the tracks "You & I" (Wilco cover), "Coffee and Cigarettes (Acoustic)", "Precision Auto" (Superchunk cover) and "Anais (Demo)". There was also an acoustic version of "Mixtape" that was included as part of an iTunes pre-order.

Invented starts out strong with “This Heart is Hard to Find” which puts a lot of life and energy into song that is driven by acoustic guitars, Jim Adkins’ vocals, hand claps and violin. This track sets the stage for the disc’s first single “My Best Theory” which is one of a handful of very strong alt-pop gems on the disc. While tempos and song structures change, the disc stays at a high-energy level through the wistful coming-of-age song “Coffee and Cigarettes” (which is powered by a memorable driving bassline and Courtney Marie Andrews sharing the vocals). Unfortunately, the band gets weighed down by slower tempo emotive baggage in the middle of the disc. The energy that opened the disc doesn’t return until the tenth track – “Action Needs an Audience” (which features guitarist/original vocalist Tom Linton on vocals). While the band slows down on the last two songs on the disc, these songs are slightly longer than the others which gives the music an opportunity to rise and fall beneath Adkins’ vocals. The musical buildup keeps these tracks engaging and differentiates them from the slower tracks in the middle of this disc. Invented ends on a strong but somber note with the final track “Mixtape”, which is a breakup song that builds to a crescendo around the chorus “You don't get to walk away now. It's too late, you can't walk away now”.



Links:
Jimmy Eat World