Review Summary: It doesn't have to hurt anymore.
The thought of Jimmy Eat World releasing an album this good in 2016 is surprising to say the least. Although never releasing anything truly mediocre, Jimmy Eat World has been slightly losing some of the character that made albums such as Bleed American and Futures favorites among the hearts of many. 2007's Chase This Light was thoroughly enjoyable, despite focusing more heavily on poppier songwriting, resulting in a lack of a lot of the emotional depth captured in the back end of their discography. With 2010's Invented, Jimmy Eat World showcased some of their most creative and at times nearly experimental songwriting and was very solid, although never fully living up to its potential. 2013's Damage is the odd one out of these albums, not in the sense that it was drastically different than its predecessors, but instead because there was nothing that stood out about it, and while solid, played it very safe. It was starting to look more and more like Jimmy eat World would never be able to fully recreate the character and charm of their peak, and for the most part, someone would be very accurate to believe so. Until 2016 that is.
It's not just the quality of Integrity Blues that came as a surprise, but the fact that it channels everything this band stands for in a nearly flawless manner. This album sounds as if it couldn've been ripped directly from the middle of the band's discography, specifically it sounds remarkably like an effortless blend of the more acoustic led elements of 2001's Bleed American and the darker more atmospheric sound brought by 2004's Futures. Integrity Blues opens with You With Me, beginning with a buildup from nothing, flawlessly leading to the chorus, which oddly enough sounds slightly reminiscent of the opening track of Taking Back Sunday's Tidal Wave, released not a month earlier. Despite being nothing groundbreaking, the following track and second single, Sure and Certain is simply classic Jimmy eat World, containing everything necessary to later become revered as one of the most instantly gratifying songs they've written to date. The following two tracks successfully Channel the more instrumentally atmospheric aspects of Futures, although the former is slightly better executed. There are no overly weak tracks on the album, but Track 5 arguably does the best job of encapsulating everything this album is. It's more experimentally interesting than anything attempted on their so-called experimental album, sounding more like a B-side from Catch without Arms' era Dredg than anything Jimmy Eat World would ever attempt. It's very minimalistic in nature, and despite slightly unconventional lyrical content, Pass the Baby manages to create beautiful atmospheres throughout its five and a half minute run time, finally closing with an unexpected explosive climax, with a loud and heavy guitar riff sounding even more exciting when juxtaposed with the mostly calm and relaxed feel of the album up until this point. The next two tracks are both previously released singles, the latter of which played on the radio while I was waiting in line to purchase this CD. While Pass the Baby shows the album at its most ambitious, The End is Beautiful is, as the name implies, one the most beautiful ballads they've written until this point. Bringing to mind past songs such as Night Drive and Hear you Me, but always making sure to keep an identity all its own, chock full of emotionally effecting lyrics and excellently excecuted acoustic guitar work.
All in all, Integrity Blues is easily Jimmy eat World's strongest release in the last decade, from the quiet intro of You with Me to the climatic concluding One-Two punch of the title track and the seven minute closer Pal Roger.
