A year after Futures was released and after opening a massive tour with Green Day, Jimmy Eat World released a new five song EP- Stay on My Side Tonight. None of the songs are actually new however. The first three tracks are based on previous songs demoed by the band. "Half Right" is a Heatmiser cover and Drugs or Me is only a remix of the song heard on Futures. For a small EP just to last fans until the next full album, its quite worth its five bucks.
1. Disintegration- Begins with crescendoing reverb guitar chords and appreggiated chords played on a higher scale. The song is reminiscent of "Cautioners", especially the on and off drumming. Its funny the song is called Disintegration because it does resemble The Cure a bit. The tempo is slow, making the song a bit of an odd choice for an opener (then again, JEW have done this before with "Table for Glasses". Towards the end of the song, there is a huge singalong line- "Try to lie better next time, stay on my side tonight, Woah..". Its incredibly catchy and will certainly get stuck in your head. The song is rather depressing and an odd choice for an opener. Still, a great listen throughout the long length of it- 7:44. 9/10
2. Over- Like "Disintegration" this track begins with quiet guitar chords and leads into a louder distorted series of chords and vocals. Originally, this song was written and sung by Tom during the demos for Clarity. This version was arranged with different lyrics, phrasing, and a different structure by Jim, who sings this version. Its another catchy track with a similar lyric theme to the previous song. Once again, this song is powered by answering vocals sung in octaves. The whole song flows very nicely, especially the chorus which hits hard after the verses and bridge. 8/10
3. Closer- After 2 somewhat pessimistic songs, this one picks up the mood. The lyrics are positive and the guitar lines that continue throughout the song sound happy. At about 2:15 the song breaks into an instrumental section, its a great section. Its filled with guitar harmonics, octaved riffs, and an 80's sounding synth-guitar fill. After more distorted power chords and clean quiet appreggio lines during the 2 and a half minute section, the song leads into another verse and ends soon after at 5:50. Another great song. 8/10
4. Half Right- A sensible cover to do after a line in "Kill"- "Like your favorite Heatmiser song goes, its just like being alone." This is that Heatmiser song. Its played on an acoustic guitar playing more appreggiated chords along with bass and drums. Although I must admit I've never heard the original, I can tell from the cover that its very well written and quite beautiful. Its a nice ballad and good cover from what I can tell. It fits JEW's style nicely. However, its another depressing song like the first two. 9/10
5. Drugs or Me (Styrofoam Remix)- A very strange remix, adding new parts to the song. The remix wasn't done by the band, but by a remixer by the name of Styrofoam. Its hard to describe what's remixed. It sounds like the original vocals are broken into tiny bits and scattered through the song. Its a techno style remix of what was originally a slow ballad. It doesn't do the original song any justice really. All of the strange digital effects and sped up vocals ruin the song. 3/10
Pros- Songs are incredibly catchy
Songs have good lengths
First four tracks are all great
Cons- 5 songs? Even for an EP that seems too little.
Drugs or Me (original)>>>>>>>>>> remix
The remix is pretty much a filler song. Filler ratio- 1 to 4.
Overall, its a nice way to keep fans satisfied until the release of the next album. Worth your five bucks.
