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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”.
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Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World's sixth studio album, Invented, is available in stores and digitally today. The album marks the reunion of the band and producer Mark Trombino who served as producer on the band's two biggest selling albums Clarity and Bleed American. The deluxe version of the album (with four additional tracks) is currently the #4 best seller on iTunes.
First single "My Best Theory" has quickly stormed up the Modern Rock charts and now is the #3 song. New York Magazine wrote: "The pounding single ["My Best Theory"] from Jimmy Eat World's forthcoming album, Invented, reminds us that emo used to actually rock, not whine." The band recently performed a blistering rendition of the song on Late Show with David Letterman this past Friday, September 24. The heavily science fiction influenced video for "My Best Theory" made its debut last Friday.
The band started a tour across the U.S. on September 21 and has been playing to packed houses. The Washington Post wrote about a stop in DC that "they sounded as fiery as ever, like classic rock power ballads ramped up to the speed of punk."
Jimmy Eat World plays Terminal 5 on October 13th and 14th and We Were Promised Jetpacks (Fatcat) is providing support each night. The show on the 14th is sold out but tickets are still available for the show on the 13th. Tickets are $32 in advance and $37 DOS.
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Jimmy Eat World
DOWNLOAD: Chris Shiflet & The Dead Peasants - "Bandaged"
Long-time Foo Fighter/Me First and the Gimme Gimmes guitarist Chris Shiflett just released his first solo CD (Le Coq Napoleon/RCA) on July 13th. Dialing back the arena rock sound of the Foo Fighters, this album is chock-full of soulful pedal steel and slide guitar-accented songs steeped in Shiflett's longtime appreciation of classic country artists (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams) and rockabilly (Gene Vincent, Elvis, Eddie Cochran). Shiflett uses these artists as a jumping-off point to go down a roots-rock path that has been traveled before by The Knitters, Lee Ving's Range War and later-period Replacements.
The nine-song / 35 minute disc never strays far from its core roots-rock sound but there are a number of variations on this theme throughout the disc. The disc starts out strong with the up-tempo and hooky "Helsinki" and moves from there into the Tom Pettyish "Get Along". Two of the other notable cuts are “An Athiest’s Prayer”, which features a duet with Heather Waters and "God Damn", which includes some stellar guitar work complemented by keyboards and the mandolin.
Shiflett's new disc is a solid effort but he doesn't quite have the vocals prowess of comparable singers like Tom Petty and John Doe and there isn't enough of the memorable melodies and hooks of bands like The Replacements, X / The Knitters or even the Foo Fighters. Fans of the alt-country/roots-rock genre will certainly find something to like here but this may not enough to pull in a casual listener (or Foo Fighter fan).
Chris Shiflett plays the Mercury Lounge of August 14th. Tickets are $12 and Shiflett is playing with Ari Shine.
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Chris Shiflett
DOWNLOAD: Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants - "Get Along" (CD out July 13th)Long-time Foo Fighter guitarist Chris Shiflett is releasing his first solo CD (Le Coq Napoleon/RCA) on July 13th with his new side project The Dead Peasants.
Dialing back the arena rock sound of the Foo Fighters, Shiflett plays Americana-laced rock songs on his new disc. The album is chock-full of soulful pedal steel- and twang guitar-accented songs steeped in his longtime appreciation of classic country artists (Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams), rockabilly (Gene Vincent, Elvis, Eddie Cochran), and deep-rooted rock bands (The Replacements, The Rolling Stones, X). This album also highlights his versatility and skill not only as a guitarist – showcasing his deft playing in an entirely new light – but also as a songwriter: the songs are some of the best, most realized that he’s written. Lyrically, the songs frequently deal with loss…Loss of love, as in the soulful, heavy, ballad-esque “God Damn”; in the chiming keys and buoyant, ringing guitars that belie the crestfallen relationship-gone-wrong of “Get Along”; and in the pedal steel, mandolin, and evocative guitar solo that underline the heartache on “Bandaged”…Or of life, as in the stirring, bluesy groove of “An Atheist’s Prayer”; the rueful slide guitar, country swing of “Death March”; and the spry, jaunty, Old 97s-ian “Baby, Let It Out”.
The album was recorded in December 2009/January 2010 at the Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 in Los Angeles, CA, with house engineer John Lousteau, who both engineered and handled the drums. Shiflett called upon friend Derek Silverman to play keyboards and the trio would become the core band for the recordings. Once the basic tracking was done, various instrumentation was added by a select group of esteemed players, including Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello and The Imposters, Jenny Lewis, John Hiatt) on bass, Greg Leisz (Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Whiskeytown) on pedal steel, Stevie Blacke (Beck, Weezer, Colbie Caillat) on violin and mandolin, Eddie Perez (Dwight Yoakam) on guitar, and Audra Mae on backing vocals.
Chris is currently playing a few one-off shows in California prior to launching a full tour later this summer.
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Chris Shiflett