Jimmy Eat World were sitting on top of the emo pop world before the release of their last album,
Futures. Its dark, inward-looking, and more mature-sounding songs didn't wreck their career, but the record didn't exactly further it. With
Chase This Light, the band returns to the straightforward, hooky, and radio-friendly sound of
Bleed American and lightens up some in the lyric department in hopes of recapturing its position in the marketplace. They aren't exactly singing about sunshine and lollipops, mostly love problems and the ills of society, but the cloud of gloom that settled over
Futures has lifted. The band is back to following the rough template of
Bleed American and the albums that came before it, with a mix of rousing anthems like "Big Casino," "Electable (Give It Up)," and "Feeling Lucky," melancholy rockers with singalong choruses like "Always Be" and "Chase This Light," and sweet ballads like "Carry You" and "Dizzy" (which strangely sounds like an outtake from
Def Leppard's
Hysteria). Only the moody and dark (with strings) "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" hints at the mature sound of the last album.
Chase This Light isn't Futures, Pt. 2, but it also falls short of being another
Bleed American. Partially it's
Jimmy Eat World's obvious desire to go back to the sound that made them huge that does them in -- that kind of desperate move is rarely successful and it doesn't work here. Partially it's the feel of the record. The polished and groomed-to-perfection sound is huge, dry, and airless, the note-perfect and under-control vocals lack passion, and the overall lack of imagination is disheartening. Simply put, it's a bland-sounding record, which is too bad because
Jim Adkins really does have a knack for writing good pop songs. With a little more punch or soul, "Carry You" and "Feeling Lucky" could have been special. As they are, all they can manage to be is pleasant. Only the ultra-light and poppy "Here It Goes" manages to stand out, thanks to its goofy handclaps, synthesized voices, and loose backing vocals. A little more willingness to take chances like this would have served the album well, since the combination of slick sounds, surprise-free arrangements, and pleasant tunes on
Chase This Light makes
Jimmy Eat World the emo version of
Bon Jovi -- that's to say, nice to listen to and vaguely uplifting, but ultimately empty on the inside.
Jimmy Eat World have proven they can do better than this and they may yet, but this album is a true disappointment. [Polydor's 2007 U.K. edition featured two bonus tracks.] ~ Tim Sendra