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Static Prevails
A blue-tinted photo of several chimneys on a rooftop
Studio album by
Jimmy Eat World
ReleasedJuly 23, 1996 (1996-07-23)
Recorded1995
Studio
Genre
Length51:28
LabelCapitol
Producer
Jimmy Eat World chronology
Jimmy Eat World
(1994) 		Static Prevails
(1996) 		Clarity
(1999)
Singles from Static Prevails
  1. "Call It in the Air"
    Released: 1996

Static Prevails is the second studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on July 23, 1996, through Capitol Records. Following the release of the band's self-titled debut album (1994), they signed to Capitol in mid-1995 for further releases. Carrier member Rick Burch replaced bassist Mitch Porter, who left to become a Mormon missionary. Recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles, California, and at Big Fish, in Encinitas, California, Wes Kidd, Mark Trombino, and Jimmy Eat World acted as producers for the album.

Static Prevails saw the band move away from pop-punk, and into post-hardcore and emo. Preceded by a three-month United States tour, it was promoted with a mini tour of the country, a stint with the Smoking Popes and the Figgs, and a US tour with Sense Field in early 1997. A music video was filmed for "Rockstar", and "Call It in the Air" was released as the lead single in 1996. The album received mixed reviews from music critics, who mostly commented on the vocals and guitarwork. It has since been viewed as a benchmark for the second wave of emo.

Background and development

Jimmy Eat World released their self-titled debut studio album in 1994, through local label Wooden Blue records.[1] As the members left high school, frontman Jim Adkins was part of a production company with Joel Leibow, co-founder of Wooden Blue. The production company listed itself in Maximumrocknroll's guide Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, which assisted bands, promoters, and venues to book shows across the United States. After being contacted by Christie Front Drive for a show, Leibow asked the band to do a split single with Jimmy Eat World.[2] Various major labels contacted the band and asked for a tape of their music.[3] Loren Isreal, a talent scout from Capitol Records went to a show to check out Sense Field; however, the opening act, Christie Front Drive, caught his attention.[4][5]

Isreal asked them if they had new material he could hear, with the band responding by mentioning they had released a split with Jimmy Eat World.[4][5] Sometime later, Jimmy Eat World played a benefit show; a staff member at Capitol was in the audience, and approached them.[3] In mid-1995, they signed a development deal with the label that included one album, with the possibility for six more.[6][7] As the band did not know any entertainment lawyers, they hired Lind's family attorney to gloss over the contract.[5] Around this time, bassist Mitch Porter became a Mormon missionary as the insistence of his family, and left the band.[3][5] Carrier bassist Rick Burch, who guitarist Tom Linton had been best friends with since the seventh grade, replaced Porter.[6]

Recording and production

When Jimmy Eat World was searching for an engineer to record Static Prevails, they came across former Drive Like Jehu member Mark Trombino. The band recorded two songs with him, "Opener" and "77 Satellites", both of which were released through record label An Industry for Outer Space on 7" vinyl.[2] At Capitol's insistence, Jimmy Eat World went to a rehearsal room in Los Angeles, California, having been told to write some new songs and rewrite others, being guided by a producer they had hired.[8] The band did pre-production at Mind's Eye Digital in Mesa, Arizona, with engineer Larry Elyea. Static Prevails was recorded in 1995 at Sound City in Los Angeles, and at Big Fish in Encinitas, California.[9] While Jimmy Eat World wanted Trombino to produce the album, Capitol insisted on the production duo of Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, who had previously produced for the likes of Foo Fighters and Beck. The label eventually relented, with Jimmy Eat World working with Trombino, and Wes Kidd of labelmates Triple Fast Action; the band were also given a producer credit.[8][9]

Billy Bowers and Jeff Sheehan served as assistant engineers at Sound City.[9] When Jimmy Eat World recorded Seventeen", it initially featured the chorus line "You're only seventeen"; however, when they realized it sounded too similar to a song by Winger, Linton changed the lyrics, and the band re-recorded it.[10] Trombino, who also acted as engineer, mixed all of the tracks, apart from "Rockstar" and "Seventeen", in Studio C at Capitol Studios. Peter Doell, Billy Smith, and Steve Genewick worked as assistant engineers at Capitol. Rothrock and Schnapf mixed "Rockstar" and "Seventeen" at Sunset Sound, with Cappy Japngie serving as an assistant engineer.[9] Captiol Records insisted on Rothrock and Schnapf mixing the tracks because the label planned to send them to alternative radio stations; subsequently, the vocals on both tracks ended up high in the mix.[8] Stephen Marcussen mastered all of the recordings at Precision Mastering, while Craig Aaronson served as the executive producer.[9]

Composition

Static Prevails marked a shift from Jimmy Eat World's previous pop-punk material in the vein of NOFX, Rocket from the Crypt, and J Church,[11] into melodic post-hardcore and emo,[12][13] by bands such as Seam, Tortoise, and Sunny Day Real Estate.[4] Drummer Zach Lind attributed this change in style to listening to Christie Front Drive, who they found to be "really melodic but still very powerful".[11] Lind played in a more aggressive and noisier style of rock-oriented drumming, with elements of his punk rock roots.[11] Static Prevails splits lead vocals almost evenly between Linton and Adkins.[14] Ted Simon compared Adkins' vocals to those of the Replacements' frontman Paul Westerberg.[3] In addition to playing the drums, Lind played the accordion and the concertina.[9]

Eric Richter of Christie Front Drive provided additional vocals on "Digits", while Kidd played an acoustic guitar on "Claire", Lind's ex-girlfriend Sarah Pont played violin, and Trombino contributed on the Moog synthesizer.[9] The opening track, "Thinking, That's All", and "Call It in the Air" are screamo-esque songs, the former channeling the sound of Unwound.[14][15] "Claire" evokes Texas Is the Reason with its quiet and loud sections, aided by a violin.[15] Lind said the song was "formative" for the band, as it showed them that a simplistic arrangement can "make something [sound] cool".[16] "Call It in the Air", with its punk-esque sound, earned a comparison to Sense Field.[15] Lind said it exemplified the band's punk roots.[17] Tracks such as "Seventeen", "Digits" and "Robot Factory" are reminiscent of releases on indie labels like Homestead and Twin/Tone Records.[3]

Lind said the opening drum part to "Seventeen" intentionally ripped off Drove Like Jehu, to the annoyance of Trombino.[18][19] "Episode 4" is the first track the band wrote without any "loud, saturated guitar sounds", according to Adkins.[20] "Digits" was influenced by the work of Christie Front Drive; an earlier version of it was released on Jimmy Eat World's split with Christie Front Drive.[21][2] "Caveman" features the sound of crickets throughout its length, which was achieved by taking a Neumann U67 microphone outside Big Fish Studios.[22] The drums in "World Is Static" were inspired by John Anderson, the drummer of Boys Life.[23] The closing track, "Anderson Mesa", features a string arrangement; its title references the observatory of the same name.[24][25][26]

Release and promotion

After the band handed in Static Prevails, the staff at Capitol were "bummed [...] Just guys being like, 'Uh ... this is a lot different than what we expected'", according to Linton.[4] Jimmy Eat World toured the West Coast of the US in anticipation of the album between May and July 1996.[27] Capitol released Static Prevails on July 23, 1996.[28] The cover artwork features a sideways photo of chimneys, taken on a rooftop in Denver, Colorado, by Paul Drake.[9][29] The original vinyl version featured different artwork, and included the bonus 7" vinyl of "In the Same Room" and "77 Satellites".[30] The band made a music video for "Rockstar", which was included on some copies of the CD version of the album as enhanced content.[9]

Capitol released "Call It in the Air" as the lead single in 1996 on a 7" vinyl, with "Rockstar" as the B-side.[31] Jimmy Eat World promoted Static Prevails with a mini US tour along the West; later, the band embarked on a tour with the Smoking Popes and the Figgs.[3][15] In February 1997, Jimmy Eat World embarked on a cross-country US tour with Sense Field.[32] Capitol felt the original version of "Seventeen" would work in the film Never Been Kissed (1999), and in return for letting the label use it in the film, the band met Drew Barrymore.[10] Along with their third studio Clarity (1999), Static Prevails was re-released in 2007; "77 Satellites" and "What Would I Say to You Now" were included as bonus tracks.[33] Static Prevails, along with Clarity and their fifth studio Futures (2004), was re-pressed on vinyl in 2014.[34]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[35]
BBC MusicUnfavorable[36]
RTÉ[13]

Static Prevails was met with mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic reviewer Mike DaRonco stated that "what Static Prevails essentially lacks is the songwriting maturity that Jimmy Eat World could have perfected; but it's almost as if the studio heads at Capitol wouldn't let them so that there would be more room for radio-friendly pop songs. In the end, nobody won."[35] Harry Guerin of RTÉ found it to be "largely a textbook emo record" that "never really keeps your attention throughout". According to him, the album has "too many instances of familiar sounding riffs and overwrought vocals [...] to be convincing".[13] The staff at The New Rolling Stone Album Guide called it "very much of its time", complete with "anxiety-ridden vocals, lyrics of suburban melodrama, and screaming punk guitars".[37]

BBC Music writer Tim Nelson opened his review asking if the album title was "presumably meant ironically", as "staying still is one thing this propulsive pop album [...] doesn't do." In his eyes, the music "crosses the abyss between indie indulgence and soul-sucking corporate pap with aplomb".[36] Barbara Restaino of Lollipop Magazine said that she though she would "really like it" to begin with, however, Adkins and Linton's voices "started to annoy me" after a while.[38]

Michael Carriere viewed Static Prevails and Clarity as landmarks in the second wave of emo.[39] In 2012, Jason Heller of The A.V. Club noted, "As with so many punk bands that signed to a major during that decade, Jimmy Eat World gained precious few new fans—and lost many old ones—with Static Prevails."[40]

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Eat World. All recordings produced by Wes Kidd, Mark Trombino, and Jimmy Eat World.[9]

Static Prevails track listing
No.TitleLead vocals[14]Length
1."Thinking, That's All"
2:52
2."Rockstar"Linton3:47
3."Claire"Adkins3:40
4."Call It in the Air"
  • Adkins
  • Linton
3:00
5."Seventeen"Linton3:33
6."Episode IV"Linton4:28
7."Digits"Adkins7:29
8."Caveman"Linton4:34
9."World Is Static"Adkins3:56
10."In the Same Room"Adkins4:57
11."Robot Factory"Linton3:58
12."Anderson Mesa"Adkins5:14
Total length:51:28

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[9]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Jimmy Eat World (booklet). Jimmy Eat World. Wooden Blue Records. 1994. I.S.Y. 004.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b c The Singles (booklet). Jimmy Eat World. Golf Records. 2001. CDHOLE049.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Simons, Ted (August 8, 1996). "Givin' Us Static". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Ozzi, Dan (October 12, 2016). "Jimmy Eat World (for Now)". Vice. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Mehr, Bob (September 27, 2001). "Brave New World". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew. "Jimmy Eat World | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  7. ^ King, Ian (February 22, 2019). "Jimmy Eat World – Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of 'Clarity'". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on February 23, 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Crain, Zac (March 4, 1999). "Clarity prevails". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Static Prevails (booklet). Jimmy Eat World. Capitol Records. 1996. CDP 7243 5 39615 0 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ a b "f.a.q." Jimmy Eat World. Archived from the original on November 29, 1999. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Zach Lind of Jimmy Eat World". Modern Drummer. May 2004. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Keiper 2002, p. 83
  13. ^ a b c Guerin, Harry (September 10, 2002). "Jimmy Eat World - Clarity & Static Prevails". RTÉ. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  14. ^ a b c Caffrey, Dan; Kaye, Ben; Gerber, Justin (June 14, 2013). "Dissected: Jimmy Eat World (with Jim Adkins)". Consequence of Sound. p. 3. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ a b c d Bartos, Colin (September 13, 1996). "Rock 'n' roll with Jimmy Eat World". The Michigan Daily. Archived from the original on April 25, 2003. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  16. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Claire, one of our best songs we've ever done...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Call it in the Air! This is us being the best version...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Seventeen - this intro drum part is a direct...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  19. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Mark was nice though while being mildly annoyed...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 24, 2021 suggested (help)
  20. ^ Jimmy Eat World (July 23, 2021). "Jimmy Eat World on Twitter: 'episode 4 is probably the first song we wrote with no...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 23, 2021 suggested (help)
  21. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'The song Digits was a turning point for us. It was the...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  22. ^ Jimmy Eat World (July 23, 2021). "Jimmy Eat World on Twitter: 'we moved a u67 outside at big fish studios to record crickets...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  23. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Intro Drum part prob heavily influenced by John...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  24. ^ "Jimmy Eat World Bio Con't". Capitol Records. Archived from the original on February 20, 1999. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  25. ^ Lind, Zach (July 23, 2021). "Zach Lind on Twitter: 'Anderson Mesa - Jim is this a real place near Flagstaff?...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Jimmy Eat World (July 23, 2021). "Jimmy Eat World on Twitter: 'yeah, it's where they have a giant telescope...'". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; July 23, 2021 suggested (help)
  27. ^ Static Prevails (sleeve). Jimmy Eat World. Capitol Records. 1996. DPRO-11231.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ CMJ New Music Monthly 1996, p. 59
  29. ^ Diver, Mike (March 11, 2008). "Jimmy Eat World answer your questions / In Depth". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  30. ^ Static Prevails (sleeve). Jimmy Eat World. Capitol Records. 1996. 7243 8 32404 1 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ^ "Call It in the Air" (sleeve). Jimmy Eat World. Capitol Records. 1996. S7-19204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ Martin 1997, p. 10
  33. ^ "AP Exclusive: Jimmy Eat World to reissue first two albums". Alternative Press. November 16, 2006. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  34. ^ Crane, Matt (June 24, 2014). "Jimmy Eat World announce 'Futures' 10-year anniversary tour". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  35. ^ a b DaRonco, Mike. "Static Prevails - Jimmy Eat World | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  36. ^ a b Nelson, Tim (August 7, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World, Clarity". BBC Music. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  37. ^ Brackett; Hoard eds. p. 432
  38. ^ Restaino, Barbara (May 1, 1997). "Jimmy Eat World – Static Prevails – Review". Lollipop Magazine. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  39. ^ Carriere, Michael (December 13, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World: The Past is History". Shepherd Express. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  40. ^ Heller, Jason. "How Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle' became the best song for a bad time". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

Sources

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