Jimmy Eat World

Since they made the leap to the big time, Jimmy Eat World has proven to be one of the more savvy proponents of major label alternative rock. For the past decade, this band has penned emotionally charged, angst-fueled rock songs that bear particular resemblance to early ‘90s proto-emo, particularly the work of Jawbreaker. While they've occasionally engaged in the trite lyricism and formulaic aggression standard to much alternative rock, Jimmy Eat World has also proven to be imaginative in its sonic variety and occasional forays beyond standard guitar/bass/drums instrumentation.

Futures marks the sound of Jimmy Eat World maturing and becoming increasingly at home in its skin, comfortably combining the band’s sustained nod to scorching post-punk and the hypnotic balladry of 1999’s Clarity. The album offers a string of mid-tempo tracks that utilize the band’s characteristic power-pop crunch while sustaining the weight of lyrical introspection and moody repetition in song structure. The album indicates something of a return to Clarity’s more sprawling arrangements, but Jimmy Eat World makes forward progress in the greater use of vocal harmonies, adding an element of melodic sophistication to this band’s ever-accessible sound. For a band that has spent a decade mastering the frustrated expression of the post-adolescent, Futures seems to mark a transition into adulthood. - Cory O'Malley

The massive success of Jimmy Eat World's 2001 Bleed American propelled the band into the mass-culture spotlight, with the hit single "The Middle" seemingly popping up in every third movie released and the group turning in an energized performance on Saturday Night Live. Many, many groups followed in their wake, crafting a similar blend of melodic, anguished punk-pop and leaving Jimmy Eat World in the position of crafting a follow-up that set them apart from their acolytes. Futures gets around this dilemma in two ways. First, with the help of producer Gil Norton, the band polishes its sound until it shines like a slick '70s arena rock record. The guitars are stacked like thick diamonds, the vocals are way out front and buttressed by sweet harmonies in the choruses, the drums sound large, and the mix is loaded with sweetening from acoustic guitars, keyboards, and female vocals. In the process, they sacrificed the immediacy of the previous record, but they gained an epic and weighty feel. Secondly, the lyrics are much darker and more mature, including themes that revolve around politics, drugs, and despair. The piano-and-feedback ballad "Drugs or Me" and the bittersweet love song "Night Drive" are the products of age and experience the band lacked until now. The best song on the record, the very Disintegration-era Cure-sounding "23," seems like it was recorded by a different group entirely. Some things have remained the same, however. Jim Adkins' vocals are as intense and heart-tugging as ever, and the band still writes hooks that will have you singing along before the song is half over. "Just Tonight," "Futures," and the AC/DC-sampling "Pain" are all trademark Jimmy Eat World punky pop/rockers with anthemic choruses, while "The World You Love" and "Work" display the sweetly melodic side of the band. There are a couple of stumbles (the decision to replace Petra Haden's charming vocals with Liz Phair's, the generic "Nothingwrong"), but they don't detract from the overall power of the record. Futures will most likely not be the sensation that Bleed American was -- it is too dark and inwardly focused for that -- but it shows a progression of sound and emotion that fans of the band should embrace. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide