Courtesy Jimmy Eat World kicks ass — but you wouldn't know from its latest release.

Since forming in Arizona in 1993, Jimmy Eat World has released six studio albums.

In emo time, 14 years and a half-dozen albums makes a band approximately 147 years old, which is why it makes sense that the quartet's latest release — Chase This Light — sounds a bit tired and uninspired.

Or perhaps comparing Chase This Light to its two stellar predecessors — 2004's Futures and 2001's Bleed American (renamed Jimmy Eat World after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks) — simply casts the band's latest effort in a disparaging (no pun intended) light.

Although Chase This Light (available now) kicks off with its best track — “Big Casino,” which, not so coincidentally, is also its lead single — it quickly fades into been there, done that power pop like “Let It Happen” and “Always Be.”

And while distinct, standout tracks such as “Carry You” and “Feeling Lucky” keep the record moving, one can't help but wonder if Jimmy Eat World, with three years having passed since its latest release, simply felt the need to reconvene, if only for consistency's sake.

That is not to say Chase This Light is a mediocre album.

Rather, it's a mediocre album in relation to the body of work Jimmy Eat World has assembled over the last 14 years. There is no ear-catching, party-starting anthem to be found on Chase This Light, as was the case with Jimmy Eat World (the smash hit “The Middle”), and to a lesser extent, Futures (the criminally underrated “Pain”).

This, however, is unlikely to deter Jimmy Eat World diehards from purchasing (or perhaps, illegally downloading) the 40-minute, 11-track Chase This Light.

CLINT HALE | 210SA