I’m pretty certain the 11th Commandment would have been ‘Jimmy Eat World shalt not write bad records’. ‘Futures’ is the proof of the pudding really. If ‘Static Prevails’ is genius, ‘Clarity’ one of the best albums ever recorded and ‘Bleed American’ their mainstream hit record, ‘Futures’ takes the best bits of all three albums and rolls them masterfully into one. Jim’s voice is as good as it ever has been, while the songs themselves remain catchy and melodic, without ever screaming ‘radio hit!’ like ‘The Middle’ once did.
Maybe that’s down to the production of Gil Norton, who was roped in after the band ditched long-term knob twiddler Mark Trombino. Who knows? What we do know, is this album is an absolute stonker. ‘Futures’ is upbeat and fast-paced, ‘Just Tonight…’ catchy and hooky and ‘Work’ has that trademark build in the verses, to have a huge singalong chorus. A future lighters-in-the-air anthem? I think so. ‘Futures’ is a very up-beat sounding record, with tracks like first single ‘Pain’ and ‘The World You Love’ featuring the band’s trademarked driving guitars and wonderfully worked vocal harmonies.
For me though, tracks like ‘Kill’ and ‘23′ are the standouts and as good a songs as any the band have penned before. The former especially, a song that actually made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end the first time I heard it. It’s a bitter track, a track obviously aimed at someone in particular, but as JEW has done throughout their career, they never, ever fall into the realms of emo clichés.
‘Futures’ is a brilliant, brilliant record and one I shall be listening to for a very long time. It mixes everything we have come to love from Jimmy Eat World, and while hardcore fans may still think ‘Clarity’ takes some beating, this new album is certainly up there jostling for the position of their best record yet. If you downloaded this early, go out and buy it – it’s simply that good.
www.jimmyeatworld.com
Interscope Records
Paul