Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2019 Riptide Festival in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2018 Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2018 Firefly Festival in Dover, DE
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2018 Shaky Knees Fest in Atlanta, GA
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at SXSW 2017 in Austin, TX
QRO’s review of Jimmy Eat World at Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR on July 16th, 2013
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2016 Riot Fest in Chicago, IL
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at 2013 Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, PQ, Canada
Photos of Jimmy Eat World at Terminal 5 in New York, NY on October 13th, 2010
One of the biggest bands to break out when emo was brought onto the world earlier this century/millennium, Jimmy Eat World have long been seen in that box by others: beloved by those who grew up with them, but derided by those who didn’t. And their early hits “The Middle” and “The Sweetness” have ever since been a high bar that they’ve never really matched. Integrity Blues changes none of these things.
Now, Blues does start off with strong, catchy, effective emo in “You with Me”, what you would expect from Jimmy Eat World, but a quality expectation. Other emotional uplifts like “You Are Free” and closer “Pol Roger” similarly work with their brightness, but other times the band goes out-and-out saccharine (see “The End Is Beautiful”). And yet when they try to go dark with back-to-back processional grinds “Pass the Baby” and “Get Right”, the results are swings & misses.
For a long time, it has been that, if you already like Jimmy Eat World, you’ll like their newest record, even if it’s not 2001 breakthrough Bleed American, and you’re not gonna get major growth. For better or worse, that continues.
