Invented, indeed.

So, here to follow is one of many album reviews to come. I've fooled myself into thinking I'm something of a music connoisseur. I enjoy a great many genres of music, but that of the band to follow is somewhat out of character for me. But Jimmy Eat World is one of those bands you'll never really outgrow.

So what if they've been around since 1993? Some greatness never dies. Formed in Phoenix Arizona, they're one of the only West(ish) Coast bands I've always loved (that is, of course, besides those signed or related to Sub Pop). I don't care if they've grossed top-hits lists, or been played on your bad local alternative station. They are good pop-alternative and that's all there is to it.

I can say I've been an avid fan since before I can remember: Futures was the soundtrack to my life for a good three or four years, and I can proudly say I saw them for their ten year anniversary Clarity tour at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. in 2009. My brother once perfectly described their albums as such: Clarity was an example of powerful and long-winded vocals; Bleed American, a tried and true American teenage rock album (you can't deny that guitar); Futures, of excellent melancholy song-writing, and purely produced tracks; and Chase This Light is just a solid, good pop album (is there such a thing?) What, then, of their newly released Invented?

Via jimmyeatworld.com

It would be an understatement to say that I had high expectations for this new album. However, my heart sank at the clips and whatnot features on iTunes. What was this pop failure? My first taste of the album was the second track, "My Best Theory." I was unwilling to admit to myself that it was bad. But it is. It's horribly predictable, like some pop-punk power ballad; anyone who pays the slightest attention to musical structure will predict the hook on the first listen. "Coffee and Cigarettes" explores a story-telling structure that we haven't heard since Clarity's "Blister", and the epithet grows exhausting, to say the least. Upon finally owning the album, I was overjoyed to listen to the opening (and sorely underrated) track, "Heart Is Hard to Find." There's the stellar writing I had come to take for granted, and once again realized in a great Jimmy track.

The rest of the album? Besides the first track, there is nothing new to be found on it. "Movielike", "Invented", "Mixtape" and that catchy first track are my favorites, to be certain. The second track is a sore disappointment, but the rest of the tracks can find their twins in previous Jimmy Eat World albums. Having said that, it is not necessarily a bad thing, considering their previous albums are all (yes, all) quite amazing. And they continue their tradition of concluding their albums with at least one wonderfully melancholy, emotional ballad-esque song (take, for example, "Goodbye Sky Harbor," "My Sundown," "23," and "Dizzy."). In my opinion, their strongest consistency.

(Not to mention that the album art features some great photography by Hannah Starkley. Jim Adkins is famed for seeking inspiration in photography above all other media. A man after my own heart.)

In closing, if your were awaiting something new and ground-breaking from Jim Adkins and the boys, those days died with Futures and Stay On My Side Tonight. However, if you're just a die-hard Jimmy Eat World fan like me, you'll enjoy Invented, so long as you skip that pesky second track, and get your Folgers and Marlboro Lights ready for track six.