Clarity

I was surprised to have a second Jimmy Eat World album suggested for this list. It was expectedly good and I did enjoy it. I wouldn’t take a second Jimmy Eat World slot for this on a list of 1001 albums - Bleed American fits the spot nicely - but I liked listening to this. Until Goodbye Sky Harbor overstayed its welcome by about 9 minutes. It was a bit much and really started to annoy me. Won’t be finishing out that song again any time soon.

Another ok album by Jimmy Eat World. Fine uptempo rock songs that are nice, but not remarkable. (I'll never get the necessity to make albums like these that long).

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.

Pop Punk til I die

Goodbye Sky Harbor is a masterpiece

Some lesser known songs. A bit more emo than poprock. Good album non the less

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Lucky denver mint, Blister, Christmas card

March 29, 2025 HL: "Table For Glasses", "Lucky Denver Mint", "Your New Aesthetic", "Ten", "Just Watch the Fireworks", title track They have more songs besides "The Middle"? While listening to this, my brain drew comparisons to post-Britpop like Coldplay, Travis & Doves, but that's more the fault of the 1001 for not really giving heed to the emo subgenre, or my fault for not listening to much emo on my own. Initially I didn't think it had the chops to wow me over 70 minutes, but take out the 2 bonus tracks, and after realizing that "Goodbye Sky Harbor" is just a really long coda, I concluded it's pretty standard length for a CD release. Clarity has a really great 3 song run at the beginning, but doesn't lose too much momentum after that. It does the sugary, strings + glockenspiel stuff as well as the power-chord-chugging tunes. Perhaps credit is due to Trombino, the producer who also worked on the Drive Like Jehu & Rocket From the Crypt from the OG list, for making it all flow so nicely. In sum- lots to enjoy about the more melodic side of emo.

Emo punk

I thought Jimmy Eat World was more of an Indie Pop/Emo band, but this is just straight up no bullshit Emo. Pretty cool. I think I like this one more than "Bleed American". Also just realized why I've never seen anybody refer to this band with an acronym before.

Listened to this properly on my main stereo system. I’ve always enjoyed what I have heard from Jimmy Eat World but I haven’t sat down to a full record before. This was a really great listen. Great song writing. Well recorded. Well produced. I’m giving it a four at the moment but has potential to be a five after some more listens.

Despite really enjoying pretty much any Jimmy Eat World I've ever listened to, I've never actually listened to Clarity, and that's my fault, because it's really good. It's more like Futures than Bleed American, a little more emo and a little more introspective than pop punk, but it's still really good throughout and bears all the hallmarks of the band they became probably really starting from here, with respect to their previous offerings. Lucky Denver Mint, Your New Aesthetic, Just Watch The Fireworks (so good, balancing the delicate verses and bridges with the explosive choruses), Goodbye Sky Harbor are the outstanding tracks and it gets a high 4, because I think their subsequent work was just that bit better. I'd give Futures 5/5 because it's one of my favourite albums of all time even though that's probably not something that syncs with a lot of JEW fans, but what a three-album run they had. Minor spoiler, we've not had it yet but from the reviews it looks like Bleed American is also on the user submissions list, so that's well deserved too.

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?"

I love J-E-W but this is my least favorite of theirs. I didn't hate it, obviously, but it's a solid 3.5/5. Rounding down to 3 though due to it being somewhat repetitive.

I would rate this as pretty alright. 3 stars.

You know it’s gonna be fine when the synopsis begins with ‘though largely ignored upon its 1999 release’

Average alt rock. Its fine, inoffensive and it is solid enough that you feel that given enough iterations, they should be able to craft a hit out of their sound. Unfortunately I don't see it on this album. Lucky Denver Mint shows promise, but it quickly all blends together and the album is a bit tiring by the end.

Sweetness is the most popular song on this album without a doubt. Lucky Denver Mint is also quite nice.

Eh, this is ok? Doesn't really get up and go. A bit too "safe". Maybe Courtney Barnett yesterday was too much of a palate cleanser, because this voice just sounds TOO IN TUNE by comparison lol. 3/5 middle of the road.

This didn't not do a whole lot for me. I didn't dislike it but I found it a little too soft, and frankly bland.

Emo, punk rock, pop-punk. Ni fu ni fa.

The early Jimmy eat world before they hit the mainstream with all their classics. Clarity was a solid pre Y2K album with the alternative edginess and rock. It was an album that showed progression from the grunge of the 90s to the pop era of the 2000s. Jimmy eat world hit that perfect middle with bleed American but clarity was the stepping stone that was a little deeper and darker. Solid album. 7.4/10

This was really good. Great hooks, subtly creative arrangements, dreamy harmonies. Such a fun listen. My main critique would be that this really could have been edited down to be a much tighter/better album. Fave Songs: Lucky Denver Mint, Table for Glasses, Just Watch the Fireworks, Crush, Ten, Believe in What You Want

This didn’t come close to bleed American at any point but I still mostly enjoyed it until the last song went on for 16 minutes in the most annoying and repetitive way possible and left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth. I don’t remember the last time a final song ruined so much goodwill.

So that's where snow patrol came from!

Quite whiny, but not bad

It’s CLEAR to me this is just ok

This album isn't quite what I assumed it to be. There's a lot of stuff in here that lines up fairly closely to what comes in the future. Although that final track is incredibly grating and could have been half the length.

Emo music is a thief. It steals your thoughts and emotions, replacing them with halcyon sensations of loss and abandonment that you possibly never knew. This album is a master cat-burglar.

Never sent their way. Not bad

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

It was good

Jimmy Eat World does have something special going on. But I enjoyed the other album shared more than this one. I do think one of them (probably Bleed American) should have have been on the main list.

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.

Usually a fan of Jimmy’s output, but this LP left me wanting pretty severely compared to their usual fare. The guitar never quite seemed to kick in, the tracks left mostly soft and uninspiring instrumentally. Couple this with uncharacteristically pleading, whiny, and repetitive vocal lines, and the whole thing was mostly unappealing to listen to. Not sure if this is a function of only having the expanded version to listen to, but this album was so uniformly bland that I don’t think any editorializing would’ve helped.

It suddenly has good musical intentions, good rhythms, but I feel like it never quite gets going once I've finished a song. I can't say it's great, but I can't say it's bad either; maybe it's just the musical approach or intention. Track 13 is the one that best defines the album.

It's incredibly tempting to rate this as 3-stars, because the middle-of-the-road stuff on here is absolutely, purely and comprehensively middle-of-the-road. However. The opening track (Table For Glasses) is excruciatingly awful. A snare drum every 3 seconds and a twiddly guitar accompanying a whiny dirge. Oh hey! Some dude's been given a glockenspiel! The upbeat stuff is, by way of relief, a joy in comparison, but when looked at outside the context of the juvenile emo-ish dirges, it's literally just OK. It is because of these dreadful over-long couple of tracks that this has to get dinged. Sorry. Bleed American is a way better album.

I'm tired of generic American 90's-00s Rock bands that all sound the same. So generic and dull. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!!! To be fair to them they did come before a legion of imitators which saves this from a One star.

I think I have the last Jimmy album a 4 or 5. This one feels like a more serious and underdeveloped album... Which is exactly what I don't want from them, sadly.