Jimmy Eat World

Of all the emo bands out there today, Mesa, Arizona's Jimmy Eat World is the one that has always been best poised to break through to mainstream success without sacrificing their integrity. It's not their fault they write deeply emotional, intelligent and catchy as hell songs, they just do. And on their fourth disc, that dedication to songwriting and their determination to rock the world on their terms can be found in spades. Produced by the band and long-time co-conspirator Mark Trombino (Drive Like Jehu, No Knife), and completely self-financed and recorded before securing their second major label deal, Bleed American is bloody brilliant. The songs pop, rock and roll from the paint-peeling heat of the titular opening track to the melancholy closer, the suitably named "My Sundown." In between we get healthy doses of meticulously arranged emo waltz ("Hear You Me") and radio-friendly anthems ("Sweetness" and "The Authority Song"), featuring the kind of "whoah-oah" sing-alongs Kevin Seconds would give his left testicle for. On tour with Blink 182 across Canada later this summer.