Jimmy Eat World fans have come to expect a certain daring dichotomy in the Mesa, Ariz., postpunk quartet's recorded output. Over the course of six years and two full-length albums for megalith Capitol Records, not to mention the clutch of singles, EPs and collections released on various indies, the band has developed a penchant for juxtaposition that borders on schizophrenia. Aggressive, catchy burners give way to textured, meandering melancholia. Driving rhythms and dirty guitars swap ear time with deft odd-time signatures, keyboards and studio experimentation. Track 5 might rip through two minutes, while Track 6 stretches off into dreamscape infinity. This is not to say that albums like Static Prevails and Clarity aren't cohesive, style-defining efforts, but simply that each is a lengthy emotional journey, full of surprising twists and turns.
How, then, will longtime supporters react to the largely straightforward collection of polished pop-rock gems which make up JEW's latest release, the heavily-buzzed Bleed American? According to drummer Zach Lind, it's an important question, but one that ultimately must take a back seat to the musicians' desire to satisfy themselves creatively.
"We hope the fans like it, obviously," he states. "But ultimately, when we're old and not doing this anymore, we want to look back and listen to the record and be able to say that we made the record that we wanted to make. That's kind of how we are as a band."
The new disc is littered with trademark elements of their style. Still, even a cursory run-through heralds Bleed American as a departure for Lind, bassist Rick Burch, and vocalists/guitarists Jim Adkins and Tom Linton. The songs are mostly compact, up-front blasts of sugary hooks. With the exception of the expansive "Cautioners," esoteric flourish and ambitious abstraction have been carved away, leaving the emphasis on upbeat riffage and big, big melodies. For some, this outwardly simple formula may serve to obscure one of the group's best qualities — an innate, compelling depth.
"If people don't like it, that's their opinion, and if they prefer our older stuff, that's fine," reasons Lind. "I've been the same way with other bands, liking their older stuff more than their newer stuff. But when they come to town, I'll still go see 'em, you know what I mean?"
The drummer admits that Jimmy Eat World's more concise, pop-oriented approach to their latest album was the result of a conscious decision to break new ground. He stresses, however, that the evolution was natural rather than forced or arbitrary, and that the outfit couldn't be more pleased with the outcome.
"We just wanted to do something a little different. We wanted the songs to be a little more direct, maybe make a record that was just more fun … we haven't ever gone out and said we were going to do things a certain way. We try to never say never."
He adds, "we're probably happier with (Bleed American) than anything else we've done."
Lind goes on to dispel any fermenting notions that the foursome was under outside pressure to come up with a more accessible or easily categorized product. In fact, for the recording of Bleed American, they literally had absolutely no one to answer to but themselves. Capitol dropped the band in August 1999 — the kind of event that usually leaves major-label acts penniless and shattered. But JEW has always bucked that status with the kind of DIY standards and practices usually associated with the underground; they celebrated newfound freedom by booking and promoting their first European tour, buying their own CDs from Capitol's distributor and shipping the product overseas themselves. Upon returning home, they immediately funneled all of their funds into sessions for a new album.
"We were cutting the checks and hoping they wouldn't bounce," chuckles Lind. "It was a lot more tense for us, doing this record, because we were paying for it ourselves. We'd never really had to deal with that before. But it worked out great, in the way that it made us more nervous. We put more pressure on ourselves, and we felt that much better about ourselves when it was done."
The band's gamble paid off when a handful of forward-thinking radio stations, including L.A.'s hyper-influential KROQ, began spinning the title track to Bleed American before Jimmy Eat World had even secured a new deal. Eventually an agreement was reached with DreamWorks; now, the careening candy of "Bleed American" is enjoying more nationwide airplay than the outfit has ever experienced.
The tune — and a main-stage slot on summer's best-loved cavalcade of punk rock, extreme sports and youth marketing, the Vans Warped Tour — will undoubtedly garner them a league of new fans. And lots of them will likely be more familiar with American Hi-Fi's "Flavor of the Weak" than No Knife's "Academy Flight Song." Jimmy Eat World doesn't have a problem with that. The guys are equal opportunity entertainers. But, major-label affiliations and artistic satisfaction aside, they're acutely aware of, and grateful for, the ones who have been around for a while, the indie rock pundits and emo kids without whom Bleed American might never have gotten made.
"The fans pretty much paid for this record, ultimately," Lind asserts. "It's a cool relationship that I think we have with them. The fans that are more into indie stuff see how we operate as a band, and that we really do value the fans, do things that make them excited to be part of what's going on. And as long as you have the mindset of not relying on others, and working as hard as you can as a unit, I think people get that."
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2001.