Invented: Album Review

So here goes my first attempt at an album review from an engineers standpoint. Good thing Jimmy's mixes are near perfect so I can focus on the music and not be bothered with over-compressing and bad tuning.

Artist: Jimmy Eat World
Album: Invented


Heart Is Hard To Find

Wow. This song is incredible. Quickly jumps to the top of all time favorite Jimmy songs. The guitars are crisp. Sounds like SM81's. Two tracks panned hard left and right. I could be wrong, but each hand clap sounds different. No looping. It gives it a more real feel. The strings that come sound amazing. I really like the way the oohs, ahhs, la's, and na's in the background compliment the strings rather than overshadow. Aside from a perfect mix, the production in this song could not have been done any better. There is not a thing I would change about it. Very simple chorus lyrically, but gets the point across and stays in your head.

My Best Theory

Distorted bass guitar? Whatever works, I guess. This song isn't my favorite on the album, but good nonetheless. I like how the song is not chord driven. The chorus is made up of a note riff. Ooh, nice use of panning in the bridge. The harmonies are panned a little bit right and the lead is left. And now that I notice, in the chorus too. There's a lot of vocal layering. It's hard to keep up with it in one pass. Overall a good song. I never lose interest. But I don't think it's a chorus that will stick with me. For the style of the song, melody is key.

Evidence
I think Jimmy proves that they are kings of ambient background noise in the beginning of this song. There are so many things going on in the background that are mostly unnoticeable, but add some elements. 2nd verse has two riffs going on. One on an electric guitar in the left ear, and one on an acoustic in the right. Meanwhile, a slightly distorted guitar is keeping the chord structure with the bass right in the middle. Great way of filling out the verse. I love the guitar tone in the heavy after-verse, but don't really care for the way it goes nowhere. I feel like there should be some vocals or something there. The bridge is kind of boring and filler. Musically, this song is great. Vocal wise, I would have changed a few things. But the music makes up for it.

Higher Devotion

Explosive vocals right off the bat. These sci-fi noises going back and forth in the verses are cool. I don't like the high octave part in the chorus. Reminds me of that "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" song. Nice use of guitar panning after the second chorus. I think this is probably my least favorite on the album. Not a necessarily a skip song. But one I find to be the least creative.


Movielike

Love it. Same acoustic guitar setup as Heart Is Hard To Find. It sounds like they are only hitting one guitar note instead of a chord in the chorus. I like that for this song. It gives it a feeling of driving, but not loud. Also, the claps go from fake to real in the first chorus. But they aren't here now? Then come back after the second chorus. Then go away again. The claps are pretty random, but it works. I again like the use of vocal layering, especially in the bridge. It's cool how they use a bunch of voices without making it sound epic. I really like the vocal melody. Not really catchy, but pretty. The ending is good. Nice fade.

Coffee and Cigarettes

Love the lyrics to this song. This is probably my second favorite on the album. Side note, Otis Redding recorded at FAME. I've tracked on the same console and used the same mic that he did. That's kind of cool that they mention him. I guess I like this song so much because I've always wanted to go out west on a road trip. To not have debt or obligations. Just get in a van and go. It makes you appreciate the simple things in life and really reminds me of the book Through Painted Deserts by Donald Miller. Again with the vocal layering in the chorus. It makes it sound huge. The use of Courtney Marie Andrews is great. She has a very pretty voice, but it's not too powerful or distracting.

Stop

Courtney's voice is so perfect for these songs. I like how this song slows down the tempo of the album, but keeps it driving. I think Jimmy can drive slow and softer songs better than anyone else. Open high hat in the bridge sounds kind of funny to me. Maybe should have gone with a ride cymbal or something there. I like the line, "You want to make me mad? Stop cause I am." Nice reverse cymbal on the end to tie the song off.

Littlething

Reminds me a bit of Dizzy from the last album. Has that same driving feel to it. The guitars are pretty gainy but are in the background until the chorus. I love their mixes. In the chorus, it's pretty heavy, but you can still clearly hear the piano riff that's slightly panned right. I like how it continues in a lower octave throughout the verse. Oh, there goes the album name. Second verse. The strings sound awesome. If those are virtual, I want to find out what they're using. But there's no way. Those have to be real. The string arrangement on the last chorus is great along with the snare hits on 2, 3, and 4. Good driving song.


Cut

Is that a Hammond I hear? Has to be. I can hear the Leslie. I really like the drums on this. Very simple, yet adds just enough. And by drums I mean toms. The shaker/tambourine combo fills up the rest of it. Adding the snare on the chorus gives it that extra boost it needs. That really epic reverb snare. Really like that chord that goes out of the key halfway through the chorus. Those ahhs sound really epic.


Action Needs an Audience

Ah, another loud song. I like how Tom is singing the leads. It adds something different. Especially since he hasn't sang a lead part since Clarity. But after hearing this song, I am glad they switched to Jim. He fits this song, but would not on the rest. Guitars are doubled and panned hard left and right. That really fills it out without muddying up the mix. Near the end of this song, I'm starting to miss Jim.

Invented

The acoustic songs on this album are my favorite from any album. This song slows the tempo back down and goes back to that Jimmy ballad feel. I don't know what that noise is before the chorus. I guess it was intended since they didn't cut it out. Makes it sound more real I guess. I like how Courtney sings in this song. Her voice really adds the prettiness to the song. I like the high/low passes on the acoustics after the break in the music. It's cool how this song is 7 minutes long, but you stay attached the whole time. Very pretty song.

Mixtape

Ok, that's definitely a Hammond and Leslie. Wouldn't be surprised if it were a B3. I really like that 16th note tambourine part with the accents on the downbeats. Then it transfers to a shaker playing the same part in the opposite ear. The ambient noise in the background is nice. Very raw feel to it. No vocal layering besides a bit of harmony. I really like that simple guitar riff after the chorus that the drums come in. Couldn't be an easier part, but couldn't fit the song better. Now there's a tambourine/shaker combo. Playing the same part, but panned in different ears. That kick drum sounds so huge. If they got that room sound without sampling, I am very impressed. This, like the previous song, is long but never let's up. It keeps you interested until the very end. Cool how they bring back the ha ha's.

There are many reasons I like Jimmy so much. The first is that they are the best at what they do. They don't have many "rocking" songs, but they all drive. And when they need to be, they are all powerful. The second reason is that I don't think another band has a better mix. Everything about it is incredible. The drums pop, the guitars are powerful, and the bass always fits in there perfectly. It amazes me that they can use all the instruments and layering that they do without it sounding cluttered. I'm really glad they brought Mark Trombino back in. He has produced some of my favorite albums including Bleed American. The most impressive thing about Jimmy Eat World is the fact that from Static Prevails to Invented, all of the albums have been incredible. So many bands have dropped on the favorites list because of not so great albums, but Jimmy keeps it going with another great one. I love the visualizations I get from this. With his story-telling type lyrics, I almost feel like I'm watching a movie with some of the songs. I still don't know if I like this better than Chase This Light. But I still don't know if I like Chase This Light better than Futures.

Final score: 8 out of 10.