Jimmy Eat World, what a show to begin my Seattle based rock journalism efforts with. It has been almost precisely ten years since I’ve seen them live (their Bleed American tour in 2001) and the decade has certainly treated them well. It started a little tumultuously with the departure of Mike Trombino from the “Futures” project in 2004, as he had produced/recorded with/ or engineered every major release of theirs since 96 when he produced their first studio album Static Prevails. It was said that this was due to the band not having enough material to feel comfortable recording a full cohesive album and then later having scheduling conflicts with Trombino. While this was indeed traumatic as far as the production of the album was concerned it gave the band a chance to break away and construct something completely different. They took a little time to get back into the creation phase and after building out a few of the key tracks of Futures they teamed up with Gil Norton who was known widely for his work with the Pixies and Dashboard Confessional and put out an album that was a far reach from anything that they had done before. I found the album to be a testament to the many layers of the group that was continually being displayed through the evolution of each album. The band then toured with Taking back Sunday and Greenday before returning to the studio to record their next album “Chase This Light”
Chase This Light came at an interesting time for me because I was heavily involved in the creation of tour apparel for major label bands for a merch company in Los Angeles and was constantly immersed in the music world. While I didn’t have the pleasure of working on any Jimmy t-shirts they were definitely played through my headphones while I worked away in adobe. When Chase This Light came out I couldn’t stop listening. It felt like an incredible call back to the days of Bleed American where every track could be a single. It was one of those albums where there was no wasted space, every song was worth listening to every time. This time they decided to self produce the album, which involved getting a bunch of talented producers working together with them to create something amazing. (Chris Testa and John Fields as co-producers and Butch Vig as exec producer)
After announcing that they were going to start working on their next album in 2008 Atkins began work in a bit of an unconventional method for “Invented”. He would spend time studying the works of photographers like Cindy Sherman and Hannah Starkey before putting pen and ink to paper and because of this method a lot of the songs have their own distinct message. Each track communicates an individual idea but is woven together to form a fully cohesive set of thoughts communicated through the band’s music.
While putting together the material for Invented, Jimmy Eat World traveled for a tenth anniversary tour of the release of their first studio album Clarity in which they performed ten sold out shows across the US in which they played the album Clarity in its entirety. It was on this tour that the band regained connections to Trombino while playing in San Diego. They then decided to work with him again to produce their most recent work. One of the reasons they worked so well together on this production was Trombino’s willingness to produce in an unconventional method. The band would record their tracks in their home studio space “Unit 2” in Arizona and then send the tracks off to Trombino who was located in Los Angeles. It was an interesting long distance relationship but no one can deny the results. “Invented” very clearly follows the path of greatness that has been made standard by this band. With Atkins new approach to the lyrics and the return to Trombino’s production style (you can hear elements of Clarity and Bleed American pulse through this album) I was again amazed by their work. It should also be noted that another flavor was added to the recording in singer/song writer Courtney Marie Andrews who provided an integral part to the sound of the album and again in the show I just witnessed.
I will admit that Jimmy has seen a little less face time on my playlists over the last few years but this show reminded me of why I’ve been a fan for so damn long. When you run into bands throwing down shows after establishing a pretty extensive catalogue of music there is no telling what can come up, Atkins and crew played almost everything I wanted to hear from the more obscure to the classics to some tracks off of their most recent album “Invented”. I can liken it best to having just had exactly what I wanted from a meal. I walked away from that music feast satisfied and since the show they’ve definitely seen resurgence in my library.
