Jimmy Eat World- Integrity Blues Album Review

In a world where nothing is stable, its reassuring to know that Jimmy Eat World is still making new music.

The band's newest effort, Integrity Blues, is an album that stands testament to the classic Jimmy Eat World sound.

Much of the music on Integrity Blues employs the use of light-feeling music that is riddled with moments of sudden intensity in a way the band has not been able to capture since their 2004 album, Futures. That is not to say that the new album matches the mastery of Futures; in fact it does not even come remotely close. Futures was an album that showed mastery of music as well as lyrics. That album showed that Jimmy Eat World was a band of substance, not just a cookie-cutter pop band that Bleed American (read as: "The Middle") made them appear to be.

Integrity Blues may capture the feel of Futures but it was an album of little substance. Although honest and vulnerable, the lyrics on this album lacked the complexity that I have come to respect Jimmy Eat World for. For example, "Pass The Baby" is an extremely repetitive song where much of the lyrics is just saying the title of the song again and again. The song is saved however by a masterful guitar breakdown as it draws to a close. With a title like "The End Is Beautiful," I expected the song to rival Clarity-era songs like "Just Watch The Fireworks" or "For Me This Is Heaven." Unfortunately, "The End Is Beautiful" much like many other songs on the album were unable to leave a lasting impression.

The largest compliment I can give Integrity Blues is that it is a Jimmy Eat World album: Jim Adkin's vocals are as impressive as always and the music has that familiar Jimmy Eat World feel. At the heart of it all, this album is a collection of okay songs that shows "there's still some living after your prime comes and goes."

Standout tracks: "Get Right," "Sure and Certain," and "You Are Free"

Jimmy Eat World's ninth studio album Integrity Blues is currently out on Dine Alone Records.

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