“Recommit” needs a commitment but the melody eventually works its way through.įinally, Jimmy Eat World closes Surviving with “Congratulations” the longest song on the album coming in more than 6 minutes and taking the band down another experimental road thanks to more prog rock sounds featuring really cool guitar riffs and instrumentation along with some synthesizer work. “Recommit” slows the pace quite a bit with a heavy start and just as you want to click “next” Jimmy Eat World hits you with that intense chorus they infuse so perfectly in songs. “Love Never,” the other single pre-released off the album, infuses the working combination of power pop chords, rock guitar and earnest lyrics that highlights much of the band’s catalogue and made them a household name at the turn of the century. “Diamond” brings a fun upbeat track with a memorable chorus. It also dates this song by like 30 years. The band returns to their core sound with the enjoyable “One Mil” and “All the Way (Stay)” which was released earlier as a single off the album featuring classic JEW sound and melodies but the use of the saxophone to close it out doesn’t change my opinion on rock bands using this instrument. It takes some getting used to because it’s a total departure from the usual Jimmy Eat World vein but the stripped down instrumentation and Adkins taking the lead works quite well for this song. Who knew Adkins had such a wide and, dare I say, graceful vocal range? I’ll wager right now – this song makes it on the forthcoming tour setlist and eventually grows some legs as a Jimmy favorite. After the initial shock go back and listen again. OK, now we get into some very new territory with “555.” Curious as to why they didn’t place this song fifth on the album but anyway, Jimmy Eats World ventures into the world of boy bands but hold on. Their core base need not worry, they don’t stray too far from the melodic pop that works so well with Adkins on vocals as “Delivery” slips right in and provides probably another gem for the band on par with “Hear You Me” off Bleed American.
Hold off on the prog rock stamp but they have some roots growing. But they don’t stop there, “Criminal Energy” follows with even faster paced guitar-centric rock and by now the band has dialed in a new sound that suits them well.
They alternate power pop with power rock, and coincidence or not, works as a statement that Jimmy Eat World indeed survives in the dog eat dog world of music. Surviving opens with the title track, a great guitar driven song showing the band ripping on the fretboard quite a bit more than past releases.
They don’t deviate too far from the norm overall, but deliver some heavier rock fare, their usual softer melodies and a couple tracks that take a few spins to appreciate. So, just when I thought I was losing that youthful ability to soak in and appreciate new music along comes Surviving, a pretty quick-paced album of 10 songs that shows the band trying new arrangements and tone while keeping their core sound and structure together. Their pace continues with the release of Surviving their 10th studio album. The quartet from Mesa, AZ consisting of singer and guitarist Jim Adkins, drummer Zach Lind, Tom Linton on rhythm guitar, and bassist Rick Burch have worked like clockwork recording albums every three years ( Integrity Blues their last from 2016) since cementing a number of radio hits nearly 20 years ago. Jimmy Eat World’s new album Surviving(out Oct. Jimmy Eat World has slowly climbed the charts on the favorite bands list thanks to two stellar live shows in recent years that encouraged the opportunity to dig deeper than the band’s radio hits off their break through record Bleed American from 2001.