| Jimmy Eat
World Singles
Big Wheel Recreation
The emo wunderkids
from Mesa, Ariz., give us a history lesson with this 12-track retrospective of their
favorite singles, splits, compilation tracks and rarities recorded from their early,
pre-Capitol Records days.
Because it documents an angry young indie band on the rise,
everything on this collection is much harder than most of Clarity, their last
project recorded before being dropped by Capitol. That album spawned the semi-hit
"Lucky Denver Mint," that made it on the Never Been Kissed soundtrack and
ultimately became the theme song for The Time of Your Life Fox TV series that I've
never seen.
If the Goo Goo Dolls-style radio pop of Clarity was the direction they were
headed, being dropped by Capitol was probably the best thing that ever happened to these
guys. Because everything off "Singles" simply blows that album away, if only for
sheer honesty's sake.
These tracks have a similar drive as, say, current-day Cursive or
Jawbreaker. Lots of guitars -- a very loud, raucous, indie noise, with chunky riffs that
propel everything forward in rather angular, anthemic ways. I could hear why Capitol might
want them to change their style, since you're not gonna hear these ones on MTV or the FM.
"Opener," for example, opens and ends with the same
percussive, scratchy, echo-filled guitar riff that carries throughout this fist-pumping
celebration. That same riff-filled energy dominates "H Model," "Christmas
Card," actually almost of these tracks.
When in a soothing mood, like on "Speed Read," they manage to accomplish as
much with a simple organ and brush-snare as they do with dollops of guitar chords. Jim
Adkins' voice can be a pleasant coo or the typical punk caterwaul. Either way, it's hard
to pay attention to anything he says.
The band's cover of Duran Duran's "New Religion" turns the pop-New Waver into
a low-key, Radiohead-friendly Toad the Wet Sprocket hypnosis lesson, that is, until they
crank up the amps and blow everything away toward the end. Even better is their cover of
The Wedding Present's, "Spangle" -- off 1994's Watusi. This one sounds
closer to the original, though slowed a tad (the only problem: some sort of mastering
error that sadly adds a few bleeps and bloops throughout the track).
Where would this band have gone if they'd been allowed to stay with
the label? Perhaps they'd have become the next Creed or Goo Goo Dolls or Live. Who knows?
Regardless, if this collection of early singles has any impact on regenerating their
creative psyches, maybe there's a chance that Jimmy Eat World will reinvent themselves
back into the angry, indie-punk rock band they were always meant to be.
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Published in The Omaha Weekly September 7, 2000. Copyright © 2000 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved. |
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