But that’s not the purpose of this music. Some of the songs are deceptively simple, while others are complicated if you take the time to analyze them. Jimmy Eat World has made a living from taking potentially clichéd musical elements and themes and making them sound fresh, and “Damage” follows in that line. The breakup album has been done to death, to varied degrees of success. Distant acoustic guitars and slightly muffled vocals create wistful atmospherics, as Adkins admits he is still in love but has decided to drink away the pain. Album closer “You Were Good” is another simple effort, something to be commended in a band with a knack for stop-start patterns and layering. “Byebeyelove” is simple and sludgy, but it gets the point across nicely. The theme is ignorance is bliss: “We had a good thing/ But you’re better off not asking how,” Adkins advises, somewhat cryptically, “because there are some things you should never have known about.” It works, because the Jimmy Eat World stamp remains, thanks to big, anthemic choruses. “No, Never” is a bit of a departure, bravely delving into some elements of modern radio pop most straight rock groups avoid. For the first time, the storyteller turns bitter, asking, “How did you have me/ And I only got you?” Adkins has come to terms with the end of the relationship, but admits, “But me with you is who I think I’ll always be.” “How’d You Have Me” is an upbeat about-face, with a two-handed hi-hat pattern and a throbbing chorus. “Please Say No” is another high point, an understated ballad that grows more pained and pleading as it goes on. It’s nothing new, but even rehashed Jimmy Eat World somehow sounds fresh thanks to clever arrangements and bustling but well-organized energy. It follows closely the Jimmy Eat World blueprint. “I Will Steal You Back” is the first single, and wisely so. “The book of love is fiction, written by the lonely,” Adkins sings over an Arcade Fire-like rhythm. “Book Of Love” is another track that explores the band’s rootsier side, but a spiky guitar cuts through the jangle on the chorus. The title track follows, and has a breezy, slightly rootsy sound that the band explored on 2010’s “Invented.” “I want someone who lives up to this grandeur in my head,” Adkins sings, slowly easing us into the relationship-y vibe that permeates the album.
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It’s a bit of a return to the epic sound of 2004’s “Futures.” The heavy emotional vibe notwithstanding, the album is not a downer, which is evident from the get-go with “Appreciation.” The song boasts chugging verses, a slowdown on the choruses, shimmering guitars and sharply delivered drums. This is an adult album about adult issues, but shot through with youthful energy.
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Jimmy Eat World’s seventh album, “Damage,” is a breakup album that hews close to the band’s successful formula, and while Jim Adkins and company again tackle emotionally sensitive themes, they avoid the tired cheese that has befallen many of their peers.
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Seven albums into its career, Jimmy Eat World has developed a formula: driving rhythms, with occasional syncopation crystalline, clanging guitars and impassioned lyrics and vocals that frequently raise songs to anthem level without resorting to teenage pop-punk cliches.