CD Reviews Jimmy Eat World - Invented

Score: 7.5/10

Tracklisting:
1. "Heart Is Hard to Find" 3:18
2. "My Best Theory" 3:23 (single)
3. "Evidence" 4:41
4. "Higher Devotion" 3:02
5. "Movielike" 3:50
6. "Coffee and Cigarettes" 3:46
7. "Stop" 3:37
8. "Littlething" 4:07
9. "Cut" 4:57
10. "Action Needs an Audience" 2:45
11. "Invented" 7:07
12. "Mixtape" 6:32

Being the seventh released studio album by Jimmy Eat World, it conveys their forward progress and elements of past albums like Bleed American and Clarity. In my opinion it doesn’t amount to the same masterpiece status as Bleed American, but sure is an interesting and deep Jimmy Eat World expression. If fuses some electronic production with raw melodic structures. Upon first listen, it may seem like nothing special, but when you give it a second listen, it’s creativity and emotion speak to you in ways that previous Jimmy Eat World albums have. I have always been a fan of their prominent studio work, and it definitely shows in this album.

Vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Jim Adkins states that each song is its own “closed narrative,” remarking that, “the album title, Invented, refers to a song which I feel sums up the mood here, but could also be taken more literally as this album is the deepest into character writing we have tried so far. The majority of the albums lyrics came from Adkin’s sessions of viewing photographs and writing what came to mind. Adkins states that around 85-90% of the album’s lyrics stem from this, and that Cindy Sherman’s Completely Untitled Film Still series, and Hannah Starkey’s Photographs 1997-2007, were key influences.

The title track “Invented“, a seven minute song, uses soft deep vocal melodies to convey a calm full sound, eventually around 4:50, breaking out into heavy guitar riffs and strong emotional vocals. Quite a roller coaster of a song.

The final track “Mixtape“, another lengthy gem, expresses an interesting electronic effect on background percussion. It is obvious that they were involved in a large amount of studio work to perfect this album. They chose an awesome track to finalize the album.

Other notable songs include “My Best Theory” (previously released single), “Movielike“, “Coffee and Cigarettes“, and “Action Needs an Audience