Static Prevails is the second studio album by popular band Jimmy Eat World, a band which is
known for their album Bleed American and hit rock anthem The Middle. Jimmy Eat World
is known for their blend of emo, post-hardcore, and alternative rock. They released Static
Prevails in 1996 on July 23 (my birthday). Jimmy Eat World is composed of Jim Adkins (vocals,
guitar) Zach Lind (Drums, percussion) Tom Linton (guitar, vocals), and Rick Burch(Bass).
During the creation of Static Prevails we saw Jimmy Eat World take a sonic shift from pop-punk
to emo/posthardcore. They released a 7-Inch with the band Christie Front Drive, Zach Lind said
the music of Christie Front Drive was a direct influence on the sonic shift.
Now this album originally didn’t strike me as one I would resonate with, I thought Jimmy Eat
World was rather average and blown out. After hearing that Static Prevails was influenced by
Christie Front Drive, and that the producer of this album was in the band Drive Like Jehu it
struck my interest.
Now a staple of this album would be the almost poem and short nature of the lyrics. In the first
song Thinking, Thats all we are given a pretty solid guitar riff. They juxtapose the shortness of
the lyrics with heavy emotion between screaming and singing. The screeching of the distortion
and chugs of the guitar is rather pleasant. Nothing too crazy, nothing on this track stands out to
me as stellar but it’s not bad. 6/10
The second Track Rockstar, is more chorus focused and we are given almost an upgrade on the
guitar riffs. The dynamics on this song are really good and a highlight of this album. The guitars
play two different parts that mix really well together. The lyrics arent that emotionally provoking
which is something that Jimmy Eat World later in their career grasps better. 7/10
The next song Claire is when we slow down and see a more twinkly and emotionally longing
side of this album. It tells certain aspects of Claire’s life, It’s probably about an old woman and
strives away from this general emo concept of singing about a girl in a pitiful way. The build-up
on this song is pretty nice. We end it with feedback and it goes into the next song. It’s not my
favorite but a nice touch 7/10
The rest of the album falls suit, it’s all pretty similar songwriting-wise. I get kinda bored on the
track Digits, which is actually what the band showed Christie Front Drive when proposing the
idea of Static Prevails.
Now on the bonus track version of the album, there’s a song that I think tops every song on this
album. It’s called What Would I Say To You Now. It’s short and sweet and perfect. The guitar riffs
are really solid, and the lyrics are almost perfected on this. The emotionally crushing lyrics “It’s
all the wrong I’ve done, all the wrong I’ll do, Keeps me from trying keeps me from calling you.”
I personally think this song is the best Jimmy Eat World song. I’ve listened to it hundreds of
times. It’s a little corny at times but captures this essence of youth and what emo music is really
all about. If you check out this album check out this song.
All in all, I think this album is a solid listen all the way through. It was the precursor to the
heavily credited album Clarity which has been regarded by some as the most influential and
perhaps best Jimmy Eat World album. I believe a lot of the songs can get repetitive to the ear but
generally carry good elements throughout the album. If I was rating this album without the bonus
track it would go like a 5-6 depending on my mood. The first three songs were really good and
made up a majority of this rating, the rest were ok in my head. Counting the song What Would I
Say To You Now, I would give it an 8 out of bias because of how much it has influenced me.
