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Chase This Light Image
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

  • Summary: Butch Vig produces their sixth studio album.

Top Track

Always Be
Could have been a night like any other One of us has to drive One of us gets to think I'll force a laugh to break the silence It's gonna get harder... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Negative: 1 out of 25
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    Chase This Light is what emo should sound like: big emotions, sure, but also big hooks, big stakes. And big rewards. [19 Oct 2007, p.126]
  2. Chase This Light is packed with huge pop moments, galloping off with the exhilarating 'Big Casino' and swiftly following it with the towering 'Carry You,' songs seemingly custom made for action-packed pick-up truck commercials.
  3. Chase This Light's would-be killer singles make for enjoyable listening, but taken as a whole it feels uninspired for a band known for its ambition.
  4. Nothing on Chase This Light is bad, relatively speaking; Jimmy Eat World has always sprinkled cheese on its albums, just never this generously.
  5. Alternative Press
    60
    The band takes a few sucessful detours on Chase This Light, but by and large, it's more of the same. [Nov 2007, p.172]
  6. Not amazing, but steady and fun all the same.
  7. But most of all, these songs really blow, man. Way to top-load it with three half-decent tracks at the start.

See all 25 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. John
    Oct 18, 2007
    10
    Thank you Jimmy Eat World for returning to the 'Bleed American' album days.
  2. Sram
    Oct 29, 2007
    10
    Brilliant.
  3. AaronW
    Jan 12, 2008
    10
    People need to get off the Clarity kick. Good album but would you ever like a band that just kept coming out with music that sounds the same People need to get off the Clarity kick. Good album but would you ever like a band that just kept coming out with music that sounds the same as all thier other albums. No. It's called growing as an artist. Playing it safe and bankable is something sellouts do, not actual artists. This is the first cd I've been hooked on in a while and it is far and away better than some give it credit for. Expand
  4. JulieG.
    Oct 25, 2007
    9
    I am so psyched to finally have the new cd by Jimmy Eat World!!!!! I can't help listening to it over and over again. It is really well I am so psyched to finally have the new cd by Jimmy Eat World!!!!! I can't help listening to it over and over again. It is really well done, the lyrics are great and the songs are strong. I think it's definitely a bit poppier than their previous releases, and some of the lyrics are not quite as far-reaching, but overall I love it. Expand
  5. MattD.
    Oct 26, 2007
    8
    It is in Jimmy Eat World's comfort zone, but the more synthesized sound has easygoing charms of its own.
  6. RickB
    Jan 7, 2008
    7
    this is an album loaded with the kind of infectious and energetic pop songs i have come to expect from one of my favorite bands. i found this is an album loaded with the kind of infectious and energetic pop songs i have come to expect from one of my favorite bands. i found myself singing along with big casino the very first time i heard it! my chief complaint about this record is the production. unfortunately, jimmy eat world's last couple albums have been engineered to sound like the rest of the steroidal mainstream pop landscape. sure, it's punchy. but many dynamics are lost in the the digitally compressed, over-produced result. in the process, jim's vocals are layered and effected to the point of sounding a touch robotic. a friend of mine sent me some of the demos from this record (obviously lacking the final production touches) and they sound more alive to me than the finished product. however, this shouldn't detract from what is otherwise a very good offering from the band. it's just a shame they had to, once again, get wrung through the studio-"perfect" pop-mill along the way. Expand
  7. ThomR
    Nov 15, 2007
    3
    maybe its be getting older. maybe its me expecting too much. I dunno. But this last installment that J.E.W. put out just... stalled. i was maybe its be getting older. maybe its me expecting too much. I dunno. But this last installment that J.E.W. put out just... stalled. i was hooked with Static Prevails, blown to bits with Clarity, impressed and humbled at their ability with Bleed American, and reminded of what i loved about them in Futures. I waited for CHASE THIS LIGHT only to find that the light is quite dim. I actually tried my damned near best to make myself like this album. But the soul and the heart that was Jimmy Eat World just doesnt seem to be on this album. And its sad. This is a band that i have seen in VFW halls and Skaters rinks in NJ and loved every minute of it. I even got over the fact that Tom doesnt make any songs these days and just sings back up by the time Bleed American tour ended. This album might have been trying to chase the light but i never seem to see it catch it. Which is so very frustrating because J.E.W. always got me out of the dark. I guess i cant expect them to be able to do so every time. I await to hear what they do next in hope because this one just failed to grab me. Expand

See all 16 User Reviews