Huh, I hear you say, am I having deja vu? Didn't we just have this album on these pages just two weeks ago or so? Yes, yes we did, but this isn't that, and anyway, I won't leave you alone with this band until a least a handful of you have drank the kool aid all the way down, folks! Jimy Eat World are grand, Bleed American is grand, and that's why hearing these songs again - all in slightly differet versions - is grand. But really, the main reason I am posting this so quickly after the original is because I stumbled on a fabulous article over at The Quietus about Jimmy Eat World's album trio of Static Prevails, Clarity, and Bleed American, the latter two presented on One Buck Records (and the former presented on the Earlybird Special, all of which you can still download from their original write-ups). Some of the info in the article will be familiar to you if you've rad my write-ups, but a lot isn't and the article does a really good job of placing the band's music in the context of the time
That very article is something you should go and read.
And then you can listen back to Bleed American, which is discussed in geat length once more, thanks to the Once More With feeling edition of the album, which runs through the exact track list of the original, but replaces every song by a demo, live or alternative version. Highlights include the demo version of "The Middle" with the drummer going full throttle in a more basic version of the song and an ultra-lovely acoustic take on "If You Don't, Don't". Relistening to thi gain, and thinking of the article above, I just realizd that on "My Sundown" they do sound a little like Dashboard Confessional. But: no e-word, no e-word! Actually, e-word, if you read the article, the label doesn't matter, the songs are still great, the litte differences are interesting, and Jimmy Eat Worls will continue to roam across One Buck Records...some more. But for now, Bleed American, Once More With Feeling.
Edit: Even if you don't want to have a second go at Bleed American, join us in the comment section to propose a genre-defining three album run by an artist or band!
