Some bands want to preserve the rain forests. Others hold benefit concerts for alleged cop-killers or lend a helping hand to the embattled Dalai Lama. But most rockers have pretty limited ambitions outside of getting laid and getting rich -- and the occasional desire to kick a little ass. Then there's Jimmy Eat World. |

In 1995, just a few months after they formed, the Tempe, Ariz.-based quartet was offered a contract by Capitol Records. According to guitarist/vocalist Jim Adkins, the deal wasn't high on their list of priorities.

"We never aspired to be signed by a major label," he says. "When we started out, our unattainable goal was to put out a seven-inch and maybe one day open for Rancid. If you told me back then that I would one day be on the same label as the Jesus Lizard, I never would've believed you. I guess you could say that we've always had low expectations. Luckily, things always sort of happen for us anyway, which is really nice."

Ironically, Jimmy Eat World's music seems more ambitious than they are at times, blending layers of sound, meandering vocals and shimmering guitars into undeniable hooks. Says Adkins, "We describe it as simple music that's elaborately prepared."

Three years after the release of their Capitol debut, Static Prevails, an album that sold a modest 10,000-plus units, Clarity comes packaged with a built-in buzz. Advance reaction to the record has been overwhelmingly positive, with critics praising the band's passive aggressiveness and melodic ingenuity. Both the band and their fans have been waiting semi-patiently for the release of the album, given that it's been in the can since last summer. In a Web site note addressed to their fans long before its Feb. 23 release, the Jimmys wrote, "[The album] is waiting in the Capitol storage shed for the big wig execs to get off the 18th hole and give it a release date."

Surprisingly, for a band of supposed slackers, the Jimmys actually have worked pretty hard to maintain a high level of visibility in between releases. Over the course of the past three years, they have become downright D.I.Y., recording various singles, putting songs on compilations, and touring endlessly. This past December, when the slow-turning gears on the Capitol corporate machine became too much to bear, the band went ahead and released a self-titled EP through an indie label. Now, with the album finally out, the band is preparing for a cross-country tour, followed, they hope, by a stint in Europe. "That would be amazing," says Adkins. "A trip to Europe is all I really want. If that happens, I'll have gotten everything I wanted out of being in a band. To be honest, the whole thing could fall to pieces after that and I really wouldn't care."

MICHAEL MOSES(February 25, 1999)