Search - Jimmy Eat World :: Futures (Bonus CD) (Dig)

Mindblowing x2

Brandon Hagen | Arlington, Wa | 10/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I bought this I couldn't resist the urge to put the demo in first, I wanted to follow the evolution of the songs. I wasn't expecting much since it after all was a demo. Boy was I wrong, the demo completely blew me away. After hearing the demo I was thinking how in the world could they possibly improve this? But this is Jimmy Eat World we're talking about, (one of the most talented bands to ever come along) and they equally blew my mind with the original Futures as well.



Most bands couldn't take 5 years to make a cd that would even touch the quality of these songs. I can't even explain how good the music is, you just have to hear it for yourself. By all means this album is up to par with the rest of the Jimmy cataloge. You can't go wrong with any of their releases (I think everyone knows that by now). This is easily was one of the top 5 releases of the year, and well worth waiting 3 years for.



If you have a chance to get the deluxe edition by all means get it. I think I only paid 3 bucks more and it was well worth it, which is nothing compared to what some of these bands charge nowdays. And if you've never bought a JEW cd before, please ask yourself, "What am I doing with my life? Why am I wasting this beautiful gift of hearing?" Then slap yourself in the face because you deserve it.



"

Well worth the wait...

Chris | Easton/Kutztown PA | 10/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"it seems like it's been a lifetime since bleed american was released during the summer of 2001. i had gotten into jimmy eat world in the early part of the year 2000 when i was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school, less than a year after clarity had been released. i heard clarity, fell in love with it, got static prevails and the singles compilation when it was released later that year. i saw jimmy eat world at the wayne firehouse in wayne nj in october or november of 2000 while on tour supporting their split with jebediah. their evolution into my favorite band was cemented the next year. i remember being 16 years old and my excitement for their new record. bleed american came out and i was so excited and loved that record too. imagine my astonishment when the second single, "the middle," was released in late 2001 and slowly shot up the charts, eventually catipulting jimmy eat world to major rockstar status. seeing them at the asbury park convention center in the spring of 2002 was surreal. jimmy eat world were superstars. i figured that they would take some time off after their extensive touring and the general fatigue that comes with all of that hard work. when they finally got back in the studio with longtime producer mark trombino (clarity, bleed american, blink-182, finch, the jealous sound), they found that something just wasn't clicking like they had hoped. what are you supposed to do when you've already released what most of your longtime fans consider to be your masterpiece (the moody, atmospheric clarity) and your breakthrough mainstream AOR pop-rock record (bleed american)? they did the only thing that they could do, it seems, by finding a new producer, gil norton (the pixies, foo fighters) and starting from scratch. of course, this prolonged the release of this record, but it is truly well worth the wait. it seems that they chose to be a little bit more adventurous with their layering of instruments throughout the entire record. there's tracks that really don't sound like anything that they have ever done in work and night drive, there are tracks that are much more reminiscent of the poppy cuts on bleed american like the world you love and pain and there are those songs that sound like they could fit into clarity very well such as 23 and kill. where they really shine is in songs like futures, polaris and just tonight, in which they seem to have found a medium. production-wise, i've heard a few complaints about the glossy nature of the record, but i think that's why the bonus demo cd was included with the digipack version of this record. it's hard, in my eyes, to judge this record on the same level as their previous records because it's been so long. musically, this record just moreso confirmed jimmy eat world as my favorite band. their entire discography, in my opinion, is gold and futures is only the next record in a long line of hopefully more to come."

Mesa Arizona strikes again.

Magnolia | CA, USA | 10/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First off, don't try comparing this album to their other works. They're completely different. If you absolutely adored Jim's happy crooning in Bleed American, this might be a little different than what you'd expected. The harmonics are still very evident. Jim's voice can now hit unimaginable heights. Don't expect the good times feeling you got from 'Authority Song', though, because JEW's new album has an evidently darker feel to it. The album doesn't hesitate, starting off with 'Futures', and a very addicting guitar riff that hooks you right in. Just Tonight takes you on a very energetic ride, with punk guitars that send you flying into Work, which is just as catchy and vulnerable to radio play as it is beautiful to listen to. Liz Phair apparently lent her vocals to this song, but it feels like she contributes nothing, as I wasn't aware, and still can't tell that she even sings throughout the song until I was informed of it. I miss Rachel Hayden! Kill provides even more powerful guitars backing harmonized vocals. The World You Love slants a little toward the pop side, with lyrics like 'I fall asleep with my friends around me/it's the only way that I feel safe' 'Don't it feel like sunshine after all?' Then Pain comes along, yes, that song you heard on the radio. Goes into a heartfelt song, Drugs Or Me, which leads in a bit slow, even more so than some of the songs on Bleed American. Polaris brings back some more shining guitars and crooning vocals, and Nothingwrong follows with that rockin' feel to it, with a riff that makes you want to bang your head...or at least mosh the guy next to you. But then the joy ends, with Night Drive hurling this horribly irritating high pitched yodeling that starts the song off, and reoccurs throughout many times more than it should. The rest of the song is fine, although very, very repetitive. '23' ends this album on a good note, the seven minute song offering cool instrumentals and Jim's usual heartfelt vocals that slowly wind this album down.



The demos provide a bit of alternative, almost like an alternate ending to a movie, except less crappy. In fact, not crappy at all. I liked demo version of pain even more than I like the final version of pain. Some of the demo versions didn't hold much difference from the final version, though, so most aren't that big of a shock.



There were few things that left me scratching my head throughout this album. Lyrics like 'Lay back baby and we'll do this right' sound like they belong in an N'Sync song. The dark sound that Jimmy Eat World produces was a slight shock after Bleed American. Perhaps they're desparately trying to detangle that dreaded 'E' word from their name. Dare I say it? No, noone likes being called emo. But come on, can you give us another Clarity? Pretty please?"