Alex's Top Five Albums of All Time (4)

Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (Self-Titled - post 9/11)

If you are a human being and experiance emotions then go out and grab this album as soon as freaking possible. Jimmy Eat World's follow up to the massive cult hit "clarity" is nothing short of perfection. You obviously have been living under a rock if you never experienced the rediculously catchy pop single "the middle" (im talking to you Ashbee!)

It was an extremely over-played single, but hey, it sounds as fresh as it did back then and damned if you don't have your stereo at maximum capacity singing the chorus badly (like i do all the time!!!)

What I absolutely LOVE (and adore) (Ling Na) about this stunning album is that one second you are singing along to the catchiest, most adorable hook and a track later you are almost brought to tears by brilliant instrumentation and sincere, heart-felt lyrics (thankyou Jim Adkins btw). JEW (what an acronym) while diverse, stick to their own unique style of emotion, pop and in a couple of tracks all out rockin.

The opening track "Bleed American" is a no balls out, fast paced anti-drug anthem (prescription in this case) and it delivers something to melt your face off straight away. JEW throw you a curveball with the sing-a-long funnessness of "A Praise Chorus", and if you thought this was the only track you could exercise those vocal chords to think again - see "The Authority Song", "The Middle", "Sweetness" and "If you Don't, Don't".

However, catchy pop/rock is not the only thing JEW is good for, they can also write and perform one hellofa ballad. "Hear You Me" invokes something within me that can't be explained. When a song affects you to a point of no return like this particular one does it is simply amazing. The song to me is an ode to a close friend of Adkins (vocalist) who had passed away, and when Jim sings the line,

"And if i were with you tonight,
I'd sing for you just one more time,
A song for a heart so big,
God wouldn't let it live"

It doesn't get much better than that. period.

The album closes with "My Sundown" - and you know you have a good album where each song just outdoes the other (when the previous was thought to be not being able to be beaten). The closing track builds a nice denoument with the most pretty female vocals accomponying Adkins (which occurs on a few other numbers on the record) it is just a delight to let pass through your senses.

I do really recomend this album, for any listneer of all sorts (my step mum put this record on to me wtf) so it is something that will touch, invigorate and affect everyone. If you are willing, fork out the 35 dollars for the deluxe edition (the 3 bonus tracks on the origninal album and 18 bonus tracks on a second disk are well worth it - its much more sexier than a jewel case too!)

-Reviewed by Alex Stretton