Clarity

Tea pairing: Peppermint tea with honey

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The first “real” emo song I truly liked was “Lucky Denver Mint”, in all of its poppy, and sparkly sounding glory. Clarity, in my opinion, does not draw you in with “Table For Glasses”. It is a very slowly paced song that really goes nowhere, and with that, makes it boring.

That was my introduction to listening to Clarity upon discovering Tom Mullen’s stellar podcast Washed Up Emo. After “Table For Glasses” finally came to a close I was blasted by “Lucky Denver Mint”, and to this day it is one of my favorite songs from the band.

Clarity is a raw album; it still holds a decent amount of Jimmy Eat World’s more straightforward punk sound the group began with, but it also has touches of their more pop friendly side that can be heard in full force on Bleed American.

These two sounds play a balancing act throughout the album and help craft the band’s now known identity and sound. As I mentioned last week, Bleed American serves as the group’s first true run with their new sound and it is on Clarity where they created that sound.

Early highlights on Clarity are “Your New Aesthetic” and “Believe In What You Want” where the group’s harder, and more introspective sides are displayed. “We’re lowering the standard in a process selective” frontman Jim Adkins says in an angered hush. Musically, bits of “Your New Aesthetic” seem to have found their way into Bleed American’s opening track; namely the anger.

Immediately following these two emo staples is “A Sunday” where a glockenspiel is prominently heard. “A Sunday” acts as the album’s ballad, and at that, it is a fairly decent ballad. The track also displays the boldness the album holds, specifically in the ways of how different each track is to each other.

At this point on Clarity it is notable to mention that no songs sound alike. Most, not all, albums have songs that kind of just sound the same, even if it is in the slightest ways. Whether that is intentional or not I do not know, but on Clarity the band made a real effort for each song to stand out and sound like their own song.

Released in 1999, Clarity went relatively unnoticed as ‘99 saw an explosion of emo and pop punk bands that were looking for their place in the mainstream.

While the album did get a decent amount of positive feedback, it wasn’t until years later that critics noticed the album’s brilliance. This brilliance was rooted in the group’s ability to distance themselves from say blink-182, Sum 41, or even Alkaline Trio.

Without Clarity there would be a shockingly empty spot in the massive emo catalog, and that’s not just saying it would be empty without just that album, other bands and other albums may not have ever formed or been released or written.

To say Clarity is important would be an understatement as it is possibly one of the most important emo albums to date. My love for the album, and the band, can quite easily be traced back to Clarity’s more punk songs like “Crush” and “Clarity”.

Personally, I think Jimmy Eat World sounds best with screaming guitars, rhythmic drums, and Adkins’ angst filled shouts. And with that being said, no discussion about Clarity is complete without bringing up the 16 minute “Goodbye Sky Harbor”.

I have never understood that track. Why is it 16 minutes? What is going on in the song? While certainly not a favorite of mine, I do know and acknowledge that is an important song in the emo genre. Oh well, maybe I’ll understand it one day.

Yesterday, the 23rd, Clarity turned 22. Happy birthday!