Albums To Hear Before You Die

Part 2.

There are albums that are timeless - their influence over not only their own genre, but all others is so profound that it is destined to remain as one of the greatest albums of all time, forever.
Enter Jimmy Eat World...


Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World. 
An album characterized by it's attention to detail - and by detail I mean ensuring every aspect of this 14-tracker is rocking, but none more so powerful and perfect than the lyrics - is their most accessible and consistent album yet. 
Bands like Jimmy Eat World have a talent for creating songs that inspire a generation, and transcend musical boundaries leaving them with anthems like 'The Middle' and 'Sweetness' that sound as if they were destined to be sung by crowds of passionate fans under a pitch-black sky, at muddy festivals. 
The lyrics cover a broad range of topics from self-acceptance, to falling in love to nostalgia and are all delivered with punk-rock energy and straight up rock and roll smarts. Switching from aggressive vocals, and heavy guitar riffs in 'A Praise Chorus' to melodic, soft ballads like 'Hear You Me' shows their versatility and impressive instrumentation. 
What made this album, released in 2001 to surprisingly low expectations, the overwhelmingly successful piece of musical perfection that it soon became was the songs. Seems obvious doesn't it? If you want an album to be successful then make sure ALL the songs are good - but so many bands fail to adhere to this minor detail. This is where the Arizona rockers separate themselves from the crowd. They don't sound like anyone else. 

Jimmy Eat World incorporate a punk-rock, alt-rock and pop-punk sound, infused with their own brand of angst-ridden emo, sonically creating something no other band has successfully achieved before or since. Bleed American was the launch pad for Jimmy Eat World’s commercial success as well as providing numerous hit singles. An amalgamation of gentle keyboards, bells, stirring vocals, and one of the most famous guitar riffs since AC/DC's Highway to Hell all come together to make this a masterpiece, and an album everyone should be enjoying on a regular basis. 
Favourite Track? A Praise Chorus