How does a 20-year-old band produce fresh, innovative material to pull in new listeners and keep up its momentum? For Jimmy Eat World, the answer is simple: Ditch the innovation, stay the course and refine what you’ve been known for over the last two decades. Simply put, “Damage” is the band having found its identity and doing what it does best. This is Jimmy Eat World all grown up.
“Damage” takes the moody ambiance of “Clarity” and “Static Prevails” and intertwines it with bits of later efforts in a way that makes this a perfect a summation of what the band is capable of. Although “Damage” shines in certain areas, it likely won’t win the band many new fans. It lacks a distinct standout, such as a “Lucky Denver Mint,” “The Middle” or even a “Here It Goes.” But there’s nothing wrong with that.
The album kicks off with “Appreciation,” a song that surrounds itself with the aura of semi-existential thought and hard guitar riffs emblematic of the band’s early days. “Strange we come to find ourselves not knowing we’re lost,” croons Jim Adkins in the chorus, reminding us all of what drew us to the emo scene to begin with. Or is it even adequate to classify any collection of songs as such anymore?
Moments of “Chase This Light” and “Invented” pervade the title track. Soft melodies and an upbeat acoustic guitar track start a light-hearted intermission of sorts for the rest of the LP. “Lean” and “Book of Love,” the next two songs on the album, compliment “Damage” greatly. As a trio of songs, the three do a great job of setting and maintaining a consistent mood for the middle of the album, allowing Jimmy fans to shut off for ten minutes and experience a sentiment that pervaded the latter half of “Futures” and much of “Chase This Light.”
“I Will Steal You Back” breaks that ethereal sense and moves into pop-infused territory that escapes much of the rest of the album. If there were one stand-out, radio-friendly hit on “Damage,” this would be it. The chorus is incredibly catchy and steals your attention with its sharp tone.
“Please Say No” and “How’d You Have Me” start a four-track sequence that moves from moody to upbeat, culminating in the closer, “You Were Good.” That final song sums up just what makes “Damage” a summation of Jimmy Eat World’s career: An optimistic acoustic tune that appeals to our sense of nostalgia.
Although this isn’t going to be the Jimmy Eat World album that’s remembered as the one that defined the band’s sound or reinvented it for a new audience, it definitely fits the themes and sentiment we’ve come to expect from Adkins and company. Love it or hate it, this is Jimmy Eat World.