Jimmy Eat World – Invented (DGC Records, 2010)

by Dave Sharp on Oct 09^th, 2010

Reviewer: Matt Sharp

The opening track in Jimmy Eat World’s newest release Invented states “The heart is hard to find” and finding the heart of this album is no exception. Epitomizing everything mainstream alternative should be, the band has created an album that most other artists would sell their souls to assemble. Every song is a compilation of catchy lyrics, creative music lines, and superb vocals courtesy of lead singer Jim Adkins, who only seems to improve with age. Invented is the first release from any artist in a long time that has impressed me this much displaying the band’s increasing talent and maturity.

With that being said, I couldn’t help but feel let down by it; I walked away dissatisfied. I realized that this is because Invented lacks the pure passion that Jimmy Eat World’s past releases have accomplished. It lacks the feeling of longing that “Just Watch The Fireworks” gives and the catharsis felt at the end of “Table For Glasses” (both on 1999’s Clarity). The romance and excitement “Night Drive” (Futures, 2004) creates and the sadness and depravity felt in “Disintegration” (Stay On My Side Tonight EP, 2005) is completely missing from Invented. That’s not to say that the lyrics aren’t about depressing events or romantic happenings, it’s just that the overall sound of the band has lost the passion that has fueled past albums. Part of it is attributed to fact that the lead and backing vocals don’t harmonize the same way they did in previous albums. Whereas I screamed lyrics from Futures, or cried while listening to Clarity, Invented just doesn’t create any emotional atmosphere. It comes close in songs like “Heart is Hard to Find” and “Movielike”, and I wanted “Invented” to be that defining song off of the album, but none of them quite live up to the successes of the past.

However, that is a very small critique from an album with the caliber of Invented. It is an extremely solid creation from one of the most accomplished bands in the world, and most everything about it confirms that. By any other band’s standards, Invented, is a near perfect piece of art, but by Jimmy Eat World’s standards, it is a solid album that delivers great music, but lacks a key quality that has defined the band: a true artist who creates emotionally pulling works of art.