Chase This Light

''Chase This Light'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World. The band began working on the follow-up to ''Futures'' (2004) by late 2005, and had made demos by early 2006. They started recording their next album with engineer Chris Testa between Arizona and California. Butch Vig was enlisted as an executive producer, acting in a consultancy role, where he would provide feedback on the material. Sessions began in August 2006 and lasted until May 2007, with tours of the US and Europe in between. Described as a pop punk, pop rock and power pop record, the guitars drew comparison to the Outfield and U2, while individual song comparisons were made to the likes of the Killers, the All-American Rejects.

Preceded by the release of "Big Casino", ''Chase This Light'' was released on October 16, 2007 through Interscope Records. It was met with a favorable reaction from music critics, a few of them noted a return to the sound of ''Bleed American'' (2001). ''Chase This Light'' charted at number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 after selling 62,000 copies in its first week, and by 2008 it has sold 155,000 copies. It reached the top 5 on three ''Billboard'' component charts, and charted highly in Canada, the UK, Australia, among others. "Big Casino" and "Always Be" charted in Canada and the UK. With the release of a music video for "Big Casino", the band toured the US until the end of the year. "Always Be" was released as a single in December; the group had a support slot for the Foo Fighters and went on a tour of Europe and Japan in early 2008. With the single release of "Let It Happen", the band went on a co-headlining US tour with Paramore, and appeared at various festivals in Europe.

Background and recording

Jimmy Eat World released their fifth album ''Futures'' in October 2004. It charted at number 6 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and would later be certified gold in the US by the RIAA. The album was promoted with headlining stints in the US, Europe and Japan, followed by a co-headlining US tour with Taking Back Sunday, and a support slot for Green Day in the UK and the US, leading into October 2005. That same month, outtakes from the ''Futures'' sessions were released as part of the ''Stay on My Side Tonight'' EP. Following the EP's release, vocalist/guitarist Jim Adkins revealed they were working on new songs. In December, the band supported Green Day on an Australian tour. In January 2006, drummer Zach Lind said the band resumed work on new material, and by February they had seven demos. Recording for ''Chase This Light'' began in August 2006, the band entered the studio with 17 songs.

Despite initial reporting that said Butch Vig would travel from Madison, Wisconsin to work with the band in Tempe, Arizona, he ended up in a consultant-esque role. Sessions were held at Unit 2 in Tempe with engineer Chris Testa; the band handled additional recording. Ross Hogarth and Fields did additional engineering at Seedy Underbelly in Los Angeles, California. A string session was held at Conway Studios in Los Angeles for "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues", arranged and conducted by David Campbell. Vig appeared a few times in person throughout the sessions, while the group mainly worked with Testa. The band posted material on a website for Vig to listen to and provided feedback on. Subsequently, the band and Testa earned a split producer credit; John Fields co-produced "Here It Goes" and did additional production on "Big Casino", "Let It Happen", "Always Be", "Electable (Give It Up)", "Feeling Lucky" and "Dizzy".

Recording lasted for three weeks until late August, when the band took a break to play shows in the US and Europe. Sessions recommenced on September 4 and lasted until October. Further recording took place in December, when they recorded Amy Ross of Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl doing vocals. The band took a break around the Christmas period to write additional songs, and recorded more material during a few weeks in March 2007. Following this, the band embarked on a European tour, which concluded in May. The sessions finished later in the month, with mixing being done by Chris Lord-Alge the following month at Resonate Music in Burbank California with assistance from Keith Armstrong. Ted Jensen mastered the final recordings at Sterling Sound in New York City. Linton would later remark that they "might have gone a little bit too crazy on some of the production parts, like as far as adding more vocals and keyboard parts."

Composition

Musically, the sound of ''Chase This Light'' has been described as pop punk, pop rock and power pop, with influence from pop, moving away from the emo style of their earlier work. Adkins and Linton's guitar work earned comparisons to early 1980s rock acts, such as the Outfield and U2. In contrast to ''Futures'' darker sound, ''Chase This Light'' was more melodic and upbeat. The opening song "Big Casino" channeled "When You Were Young" by the Killers. Adkins referred to it as a "loser anthem" for people who burn-out and desire success. He got the title phrase from a short story by Richard Ford where two of the characters are talking and one of them says "He's big casino." The pop punk number "Let It Happen" is aided by additional vocals from Ross. Adkins wrote it as a "feigning strength as a defense"-type track. "Always Be" utilizes finger snaps and handclaps; its melody was compared to the Shins and Shout Out Louds. It discuses co-dependency, alongside exploited weaknesses.

"Carry You" originated as a track from Adkins' side project Go Big Casino. Its acoustic guitars evoked the ''Futures'' song "Kill"; Fields contributes keyboard. Talking about the song, Adkins said that with "distance and time, it becomes easier to invent qualities that may not have existed in a relationship." "Electable (Give It Up)" is a political punk track that uses synthesizers in the vein of the Killers. Adkins wrote it in anger in regards to the "lack of intelligent political discourse in America." The song features additional vocals from Ross, Finn and Jackson Adkins, and Ava Lind, as well as additional bass from Fields. "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" is a dark song with strings that returned to the sound of ''Futures''. The track talked about apathy and defending one's own beliefs.

The tambourine-enhanced power pop song "Feeling Lucky" recalled "That Thing You Do!" by the Wonders, and the All-American Rejects

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