Damage - Jimmy Eat World
Damage Image

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

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Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

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  • Band members: Tom Linton, Zach Lind, Jim Adkins, Rick Burch
  • Summary: Described as an adult breakup album by lead singer Jim Adkins, the eighth studio release for the Arizona rock band was produced by Alain Johannes.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. These songs aren’t just lovelorn poetry or odes of heartbreak; they’re full stories, five-minute films, expansive novels written in staves, rests, and music notes for the rest of us to bleed to.
  2. 80
    Fans who dismissed the band as being on autopilot after Invented was released should give Damage a try; they'll find a band that's focused, relatable and on top of their game.
  3. Jun 26, 2013
    Damage finds them rejuvenated. [8 Jun 2013, p.53]
  4. 70
    There are a couple of duds, (‘Book Of Love’, ‘Please Say No’), but, as forlorn closer ‘You Were Right’ ably demonstrates, few bands do heartache with as much majesty.
  5. Jul 17, 2013
    Jimmy Eat World has become a purveyor of modern rock that just so happens to have a noisier background that jerks like me won't let it live down. This permits recognition of well-penned, upbeat numbers like Appreciation" and "How'd You Have Me." [No. 100, p.55]
  6. Jun 21, 2013
    If you are over 25 and have been in a romantic relationship, Damage will not confront you with the unfamiliar, or make you suddenly realize you've never understood yourself like you do now. Still, some of it will comfort you when you've been depressed or confused by your life.
  7. Jun 11, 2013
    Twenty years later, on their first album since 2010, the Arizona guys still sound sweet. They're also hall-monitor dull--these meat and potatoes sure could use some fresh gravy.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Jun 13, 2013
    This is a pretty good album and it is better than their previous two releases, although the last two songs Byebyelove and You Were Good are rather weak in comparison to the other songs. Collapse
  2. Oct 26, 2013
    In interviews lately, they described this as an “adult breakup album”, and admittedly this got me a little hesitant at first. Mainly because I was afraid JEW (best band acronym ever) would basically become complacent in their themes & make something that's lyrically cliché, phoned-in & not worth analyzing. Fortunately though, for the most part, that didn't happen here. I'll stand by Bleed American as my favorite album from them, but one interesting thing about Damage that puts it slightly above other JEW albums to me is its maturity. Of course they've never been downright whiny in their breakup songs, but this seems to perfectly fit what the band described it as. At nearly no point here does the crumbling & destroyed relationship being detailed throughout feel like it's between people not old enough to drink. It's what you'd hope a breakup album by a band in their mid-late 30's would sound like; more like a divorce than a schoolyard split.

    The main indicator of this is how realistically the “characters” here are portrayed. It avoids the common breakup songwriting error of making the ex sound like some cartoonishly evil supervillain, and instead actually details good & bad traits of each person, making the “story” easier to get compelled by and, for some, relate to. A perfect example is the title track, where the narrator points out that the girl is becoming less & less appealing to him, while at the same time admitting to being a bit self-centered & suggesting that the relationship end before things get too messy, which is the stage the aforementioned whiny breakup songs are generally written in. That kind of refreshing balance sums up the lyrical advantages of a good majority of this album perfectly.

    Musically, while the band isn't exactly pushing new boundaries or experimenting all that much, this is an album where they really don't need to, since the lyrics stay the main focus. However, as usual for JEW there's an abundance of catchy vocal hooks & jangly guitar leads nicely paired with driving power chords. One notable musical moment is closer “You Were Good”, a beautifully stripped-down & almost lo-fi acoustic number that's a stark contrast to the huge 7+ minute epic closers of past albums like “Goodbye Sky Harbor,” “23” & “Dizzy”. Another is “Byebyelove”, which has the least amount of lyrics of any song here but is made extremely effective by the passionate vocal delivery & lengthy instrumental break that lets the emotions sink in a bit more.

    However, to briefly go down the more bothersome moments, opening track “Appreciation,” which is otherwise a very good song, as the exact same chord progression in the verse as the chorus of Chase This Light opener “Big Casino”. As a guitarist I know there's only so many chords in the world, but that just seems like lazy songwriting to me. Also there are a few songs that just feel like they needed some lyrical changes. The biggest offender is “How'd You Have Me”, which has the same obnoxious I praised the rest of the album for staying away from. And a few others (particularly toward the middle of the track list) are just really wordy & don't contribute much to the album that another song doesn't do better. But still, those issues don't take away from the overall listen too much. Overall, Damage isn't my favorite album from JEW, but it's a welcome addition to their catalog that dishes out familiar themes from a different perspective.

    Top 5 tracks: Byebyelove, Damage, Lean, I Will Steal You Back, You Were Good
    Score: 78/100
  3. Sep 12, 2013
    Shortly put, Jimmy Eat World's 'Damage' is their finest work since 2007's 'Chase This Light'. The album contains a number of typical JEW-style songs, which are lyrically deep and full of excellent guitar hooks. In particular, fans of an earlier period in JEW's career will enjoy 'I will steal you back'. The title track 'Damage' and opener 'Appreciation' are other highlights. The album contains a few tracks which seem rather lethargic and apathetic, namely 'Byebyelove' and 'Book of Love'. On the whole, the album is an improvement from the Arizona quartet, but the exceptionally mellow nature of the album keeps it from being anywhere near as successful as a rock album as 'Bleed American' or 'Futures'. Expand