Stuck in 2001?

Jimmy Eat World"Chase the Light"Pretty good..."Stuck in 2001?"What is subjectivity? I was thinking about that the other day. The Oxford American dictionary defines “subjective” as an adjective that is “based on or influenced by personal feelings, opinions, or tastes.” To you, for example, this is just another album review. To me, however, a review is like Lindsay Lohan’s rehab stints: I try to take each one seriously and make it better than the last. Hence, it’s subjective. When I first heard Jimmy Eat World’s “Chase the Light,” I consulted the manual on what deems an album “good.” As you may have guessed, however, there is no such manual. This is where subjectivity comes into play.Objectively speaking “Chase the Light” is solid. Due October 16, it is the bands sixth album; yes, there was a Jimmy Eat World before “The Middle.” The Arizona quintet got their start back in 1993 and released their self-titled debut in 1994. “Static Prevails” followed in 1996, and 1999’s “Clarity” gained the group a larger following and featured songs “For Me This is Heaven” and “Lucky Denver Mint.” Then there was 2001’s “Bleed American”, which propelled the band to platinum status and tagged them as “emo.” 2001 also marked the year countless teens across America got its infectious tunes stuck in their head (think “Sweetness”). Alas, the band rounded out its catalogue with the mellower “Futures” which solidified their status amongst alt-rock regulars Green Day, Weezer, and the Foo Fighters.“Chase the Light” features eleven rip-roaring tracks that scream 2007 with its orchestrated guitars, trophy synth-sounds, and prolific harmonies. Throw in a box of Pro-tools and you got 2007. Everyone from Fall Out Boy to Taking Back Sunday is doing it and, apparently, so is Jimmy Eat World. Pushing “play” is like putting the keys into the ignition of a brand new muscle car: it gives you a voracious start. “Chase the Light” opens with the fuel-injected “Big Casino” which showcases the band’s laudable energy. Tracks “Electable (Give it Up)” and “Feeling Lucky” are throwbacks to the Jimmy Eat World we’ve come to know and love. I dare you to try to get the chorus of “Carry You” out of your head. No really...it’s that catchy.At last, however, my subjectivity seeped in and decided a new muscle car isn’t as good as a classic. I’m sorry, but I’m still stuck on the 46 or so minutes of pop-rock genius that is “Bleed American.” Give me the underwear-clad partygoers I wished I was friends with. Give me the do-it-yourself garage rock that I’ve come to love and expect from Jimmy Eat World. If a sign of the times mean sounding like My Chemical Romance then maybe I’m also still stuck in 2001. The catch 22 is of course that Jimmy Eat World pioneered the sound that you attribute to My Chemical Romance and all that other nonsense. Now they are conforming to it. Never the less, “Chase the Light” is catchy and demonstrates a more mature sound; now instead of just singing about the wheelings and dealings of youth, they sing about the wheelings and dealings of youth with effects in the background. What it really comes down to is how many songs off of the album you can dance to in your underwear, and I must say, quite a few.