Review:

on 2011-07-26 CharlesMartel Said:

I suppose, inevitably at some point, I was going to come up against one of the allegedly better emo releases. Now I hate that term. It seems to exist to be used as a put-down by those who think their own taste is superior compared with the kids for whom it is so often used as a label to deride what are quite genuine feelings on their part. We were all kids once and we all went through a rebellious, moody phase. I also have some difficulty applying the term punk to anything much beyond 1980, and certainly not to some snot nosed middle-class kid in the first decade of the twenty first century who wears black, ruffles his hair, sticks a stud in his lip and thinks he has an attitude as a result. But that is another story which I won't go into here. Suffice it to say, that Jimmy Eat World's "Clarity" touches a musical point where I have not hitherto ventured. Therefore, when downloading a few tracks to see if I liked enough to buy it, and then taking the decision that I did like it enough to buy it, I have bought it and now am faced with the prospect of reviewing it. Never has something so small appeared so daunting.

So let's start with the simple premise, often expressed elsewhere in my reviews, if I like an album, I like it, and I don't give a damn what it is, what anyone else thinks it is, or what people think I am for liking it. Using that as a yardstick, I like this. It is not, I admit, going to change the world, nor is it going to set a new standard for music for a generation to come. But it is a good album. It is good solid, catchy guitar driven pop-rock. It is accessible and it is poppy without degenerating into being a sop to the mediocrity the mainstream usually demands. It bounces along at a good pace, gets the foot tapping and has moments which can be described as memorable - the guitar hook on "Clarity" or the repetitive but subtly changing long ending to "Goodbye Sky Harbour".

What it is not, is startlingly original. Nor is it, in any way, an example of musical virtuosity, individually by band members or collectively as Jimmy Eat World. That is okay, because it is not supposed to be either. The production is adequate and does not fall into the blandness or overproduction which can bedevil many albums; the hooks are catchy; and the vocals are distinct enough to lend character to the songs but never so distinct as to dominate the sound or become off putting. Emo? Okay there are moments of emotion, but the emotional aspect of this is more edgy and aggressive than self-pitying and pathetically self-indulgent. I can't imagine too many miserable teenagers slitting their wrists to this. It is just not that kind of music. If it still be emo, then it is emo with depth and character. This is not Linkin' Park for fucks sake!

There are problems with it of course. Few albums are free from them. For instance, I have serious issues with the track order, "Lucky Denver Mint" would have been better as an opener with "Table for Glasses", the actual opening track, providing something of respite midway down the running order, but that is not a major stumbling block to appreciating this album on its own merits.

I suppose that the main comment to make about "Clarity" is that it is good while it lasts, but never really inspires me to seek out more of the work of Jimmy eat World. I enjoy listening to it, but it is self-effacing enough for me not to miss when I don't hear it. I can see myself occasionally pulling this out and thinking, hmm, I haven't heard this in a long while, putting it on, reminding myself to listen to it more often and then putting it back on the rack for another long-wish stint in relative obscurity. In the end, it is likely to be only the title track which keeps bringing me back to it.
Rating: 6/10