Clarity

I'm guessing this is a favorite album with a very specific type of person. That person isn't me. I think it's fine, but it's not as good as other JEW albums

Clarity was balancing between two and three stars for me until roughly halfway through, and ended up at four. That's a bigger swing than I expected.

I'm not the biggest fan of emo or proto-emo, and the first half of the album is fine but fairly straightforward, nothing that particularly grabbed me. Then something shifts. The back half gets fuller, with orchestration and extra layers that would normally scare me off, but it works here, and the songwriting feels stronger too. Just Watch the Fireworks, For Me This Is Heaven, and the title track are the standouts, and Goodbye Sky Harbor earns every one of its sixteen minutes. I've never minded long songs, so length was never the issue.

A second listen, knowing what was coming, only made the gap between the two halves more obvious. The first half isn't bad, just more conventional. The second half is where this album actually justifies its reputation.

Favourite songs: Crush, Blister, Lucky Denver Mint, Your New Aesthetic, A Sunday

Least favourite songs: 12.23.95

2/5

Never really rang true with me, didn't rock out enough.

While not JimEaWo's best album reduced me to a teenager in my bedroom hoping my crush likes me and I loved every second

Arguably better than Bleed American, but I think the length tied with a constant feeling of longing and nostalgia for teenage years from this album's fanbase makes me even more averse to it.

Clearly added by a jimmy eat world fan. Not a bad album but don’t think it’s in the same league as Bleed America. Hence I don’t think there is a place for this on the list. But I enjoyed it enough to give it a 3.

This is a really cool showcase to see what the punk kids really have. It serves as a fun idea and a challenge to 4 chord bands to ask "What kind of music do you really want to make?"

"Wistful," which is interesting that I'm feeling that, since I didn't really listen to these guys growing up.

Not as good as "Bleed American", but very nearly (helped by having a demo version of one of my favourite BA tracks) - and still absolutely a five star album for me. An interesting choice, thoroughly deserving of being nominated.

Sweetness is such a millennial banger my lord is this just the biggest throwback. The next edition of this book should feature at least one Jimmy record.