Chase This Light

Chase This Light is the sixth studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on October 16, 2007 by Interscope Records. The album was executive produced by Butch Vig.

Chase This Light
Studio album by
Jimmy Eat World
ReleasedOctober 16, 2007
RecordedJuly 2006 – June 2007
Genre
Length40:18
LabelInterscope
Producer
Jimmy Eat World chronology
Stay on My Side Tonight
(2005)		 Chase This Light
(2007)		 Invented
(2010)
Singles from Chase This Light
  1. "Big Casino"
    Released: August 28, 2007
  2. "Always Be"
    Released: December 3, 2007
  3. "Let It Happen"
    Released: April 8, 2008

Recording

Recording for Chase This Light began in July 2006 with producer Butch Vig. In June 2007, it was announced that the album was being mixed by Chris Lord-Alge.[1]

Music

The song "Carry You" originated as a track from Jim Adkins' side project Go Big Casino.[2][3] Jimmy Eat World has recorded other Go Big Casino songs previously like "Hear You Me", "My Sundown", and "Drugs or Me".[4]

After releasing "Be Sensible" as a B-Side, the band regretted not including it on the full album[5]

Release

In July 2007, the band went on a tour of the US, before doing several shows in South Africa as well as appearing at several festival dates in Europe the following month.[6] On August 16, the album's track listing was revealed.[7] "Big Casino", the first single from the album, was released August 28 for download.[8] The album's artwork was released the following day.[9] In September and October, the group went on a North American tour.[10] Chase This Light was released on October 16 through Interscope.[9] A music video was released for "Big Casino" on October 24.[11] "Always Be" was released to radio on December 4, 2007.[12]

In January 2008, the band supported Foo Fighters on a few US shows.[13] A music video for "Always Be" was released on January 29.[14] From late January to early March, the band went on a tour of Europe and the UK.[15] They were supported by Styrofoam on the latter part of the tour.[16] In early April, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival.[17] "Let It Happen" was released to radio on April 8.[18] In April and May, the band went on a co-headlining US tour with Paramore.[19] In June and July, the band went on a tour of North America[20] with support from Dear and the Headlights.[21]

Reception

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[23]
Entertainment WeeklyA[24]
LAS Magazine7.6/10[25]
NME7/10[26]
PopMatters[27]
Rolling Stone[28]
Slant Magazine[29]
Spin7/10[30]
Ultimate Guitar8/10[31]
Virgin Media[32]

Chase This Light received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on 25 reviews.[22] Andy Greenwald from Entertainment Weekly gave praise to the band for combining the "extroverted guitar pop" of Bleed American and the pensive bulk of Futures to encapsulate what their given genre is: "big emotions, sure, but also big hooks, big stakes. And big rewards." He concluded by calling Chase This Light "a master class in hard rocking for the soft-hearted."[24] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe called it "a return to form for the band in terms of their ingratiating power-pop", praising the tracks "Big Casino" and "Always Be" for their instantly catchy instrumentation and melodies that make up the overall tone of the album. He added that "it isn't a stretch to say that Chase This Light is one of the year’s best power-pop records."[29] Spin journalist Andrew Beaujon praised Jim Adkins' vocal delivery for having a "youthful tang" that sells the songs about "getting older and maybe a little more cynical." He concluded that "[T]he joy of Chase This Light is hearing him convince us that it comes back again, too."[30]

AllMusic editor Tim Sendra was ambivalent towards the record, commending the return to Bleed American material that's made up of "rousing anthems ("Big Casino")", "melancholy rockers with singalong choruses ("Chase This Light")" and "sweet ballads ("Dizzy")" but was critical of the dry and airless production, the vocals sounding passionless and the unimaginative lyricism, saying that its "nice to listen to and vaguely uplifting, but ultimately empty on the inside." He concluded that "Jimmy Eat World have proven they can do better than this and they may yet, but this album is a bit of a disappointment."[23] Andrew Blackie of PopMatters was also disappointed with the album coming across as "a weaker, limper version" of Futures, criticizing producer Butch Vig for making the band sound "processed and sterile" and the lyrical content for being "juvenile and sapped in self-important, happy-go-lucky sentiments." He concluded that "[M]ore disappointing than that, though, is the fact that there is hardly anything groundbreaking to be found in Chase This Light's 40 minutes, which is less than we’ve come to expect from this band."[27]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling approximately 62,000 copies in its first week.[33] It also sold 78,000 worldwide. As of July 2008, the album has sold approximately 320,000 copies worldwide, and, as of September 2010, the album has sold 225,000 copies in the United States (US).

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jimmy Eat World.

No.TitleLength
1."Big Casino"3:40
2."Let It Happen"3:25
3."Always Be"3:04
4."Carry You"4:22
5."Electable (Give It Up)"2:56
6."Gotta Be Somebody's Blues"4:46
7."Feeling Lucky"2:32
8."Here It Goes"3:26
9."Chase This Light"3:29
10."Firefight"3:53
11."Dizzy"4:46
Bonus tracks
  • "Be Sensible" (Australia / UK / Germany / Japan / iTunes) – 5:04
  • "Distraction" (Japan / UK/Best Buy US Bonus Download) – 2:58
  • "Open Bar Reception" (Smartpunk/InSound pre-order) – 3:55
  • "Take 'Em as They Come" (Bruce Springsteen cover) (iTunes pre-order) – 3:55
  • "Dizzy" (acoustic) (iTunes) – 4:27
  • "Beautiful Is" (Japan / UK Big Casino single/ Big Casino part 7" vinyl) – 2:30

Personnel

Adapted credits from the booklet of Chase This Light.[34]

Chart performance
Chart (2007)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 30
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36] 73
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[37] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38] 54
Scottish Albums (OCC)[39] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 94
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 27
US Billboard 200[42] 5
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[43] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[44] 3

References
  1. "Jimmy Eat World title new album, begin mixing". Alternative Press. June 5, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  2. akatimo (May 27, 2012). "Has it really been 6 years?". Go Big Casino. GoBigCasino.net. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  3. Justin Gerber. "Dissected: Jimmy Eat World (with Jim Adkins)". Consequence of Sound. p. 7. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  4. GoBigCasino.net (2004–2012). "FAQ". GoBigCasino.net. GoBigCasino.net. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  5. #41 - Zach and Holly Lind (The Wretched Desert, Jimmy Eat World), retrieved September 5, 2019
  6. "Jimmy Eat World announce touring plans". Alternative Press. July 11, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  7. "Jimmy Eat World reveal track listing". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 16, 2007. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  8. "New Jimmy Eat World – "Big Casino"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  9. "Jimmy Eat World's Chase This Light Album Art". Stereogum. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  10. "Jimmy Eat World to tour this fall". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 28, 2007. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  11. "New Jimmy Eat World Video – "Big Casino"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  12. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. November 27, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  13. "Jimmy Eat World to join Foo Fighters' 2008 U.S. tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  14. "New Jimmy Eat World Video – "Always Be"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  15. "Jimmy Eat World plan U.K./European tour for early 2008". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. November 2, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  16. "Jimmy Eat World frontman sings on new Styrofoam song". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. January 31, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  17. "Blaqk Audio, Hot Water Music, H2O added to Bamboozle Left". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 15, 2008. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  18. "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. April 1, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  19. "Jimmy Eat World/Paramore dates announced". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. February 15, 2008. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  20. "Jimmy Eat World schedule Canada/U.S. dates for July". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. May 13, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  21. "Dear And The Headlights announce dates, complete recording". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. June 12, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  22. "Reviews for Chase This Light by Jimmy Eat World". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  23. Sendra, Tim. "Chase This Light - Jimmy Eat World". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  24. Greenwald, Andy (October 12, 2007). "Chase This Light Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  25. Middlekauff, Jason. "Jimmy Eat World Chase This Light". LAS Magazine. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  26. Martin, Daniel (October 19, 2007). "NME Album Reviews - Jimmy Eat World". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  27. Blackie, Andrew (October 16, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light". PopMatters. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  28. Hiatt, Brian (October 18, 2007). "Chase This Light : Jimmy Eat World : Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  29. Keefe, Jonathan (October 14, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  30. Beaujon, Andrew (November 1, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World, 'Chase This Light' (Interscope)". Spin. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  31. UG Team (October 16, 2007). "Chase This Light review by Jimmy Eat World". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  32. Matt O'Leary (October 15, 2007). "Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light review". Virgin Media. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  33. Hasty, Katie (October 24, 2007). "Springsteen Returns To No. 1 In Slow Sales Week". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 25, 2007.
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  40. "Swisscharts.com – Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
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