Jimmy Eat World

Clarity

the other side of the coin

Review Score:

(10/10)
Like a great many people, i was attracted to Jimmy by Bleed American late last year and was happy to start hearing so much of them thanks to that album. This album left me pretty confused after the first listen, wondering if i was hearing the same band at all and how a band could have gone from this sound to that of the new album with so little time in between. But it came highly reccomended by longtime Jimmy fans, so I gave it a chance, and boy am i glad i did. As a whole its a great deal slower and more laid-back than Bleed'. Also in contrast, the lyrics are less straightforward and more thoughtful and clever. The use of extra instruments and programming gives several songs a very unique feel and flavor, especially "A Sunday", "Goodbye Sky Harbor" and "Lucky Denver Mint". Each song has a very unique sound among the others and just seems to fit into exactly the right place on the album. Overall, it's very clever music, from the subdued notes of the first track to the lulling drift of "Goodbye Sky Harbor"'s 13-minute outro. If Bleed American's catchy, clever pop is one side of the coin, Clarity's unique artistic beauty is the other side. The two releases definately show that here is a band capable of both, which is rare. Do yourself a favor and pick this up.

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