854 Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001)

 854 Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001)


Studio Album - Pop Punk/Alternative Rock




About the Act:

Jimmy Eat World are an American band from Mesa Arizona, who started as a punk band in 1993 and expanded their sound to embrace more alternative rock and emo sounds. They have had a stable line-up, an impressive number of labels, and 10 studio albums.


About the Album:

This was the fourth album by the band, and their most commercially successful. They funded the recording themselves and then went looking for a label. 


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

Pop Punk has a rich history. If you know any of these acts, you might have an inkling about it: Garbage, Transvision Vamp, and the closest in sound to this album: No Doubt. It's kind of like punk sounds - fast and clipped, with overdriven guitar, and simple chord sequences, but the vocals are clear and intelligible, (and generally not too outrageous) and lots of compression is used to keep it all from being too punchy. Oh, and a high, ringy snare sound that seems to be one of the symptoms of punk.

This is like that, or at least you get the impression that that is the "home" mode of the band. The songs are the sort of songs that would make it into movie soundtracks, and onto video-game soundtracks (especially extreme sports games like Tony Hawks stuff). It has energy but is not anarchic. It is most beautifully produced, and there are some nice vocal harmonies at times. 

And then there are other songs that are not like that, which is where the Alternative Rock vibe takes over, slower, more emotive (generally) and all about texture. They are good at texture, and musically I like this album, quite a lot. Actually, let's nail my colours to the wall here, I like all of it a lot. Jimmy Eat World have passed me by in the past, but I could imagine myself listening to it in the early naughties. Its sound is very of that era, which is not a bad thing. 

Lyrically, there are some interesting tracks. I don't think I'm going to delve deeper than that. It is kind of easy to ignore the words at times, as you get caught up in the texture and feeling of the music, but I found some interesting stuff in there, some nice references to other stuff, some thoughtful moments, and variety.

The package as a whole is well-crafted. The variety, the order of the tracks takes you on an emotional journey, and the variety of production keeps it interesting. It works well as an album. It's pretty slick and doesn't pretend to be otherwise. For some reason I kept being reminded of Crowded House and Shakespeare's Sister, although mostly it id definitely more punky than either, I think for the richness and variety.

So, yes, I liked it. I would listen to it again, I might even seek it out. It impressed me and was a good listen.


7.6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0UJhhj5bn5AGAjryFnhueP?highlight=spotify:track:61XspFITuKmAlYdQacNCbF

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG76g_Z2SsQNgq4CZm8-jms7-DQRmNad5

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_American



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