Jimmy Eat World - Futures

About "Futures"

Futures is the fifth studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on October 19, 2004, through Interscope Records. After touring in support of Bleed American (2001) for two years, the band returned home and began working on new material by mid-2003. Following fruitless sessions with producer Mark Trombino, the band re-grouped and recorded with Gil Norton. The sessions lasted from February to May 2004 and were held at various studios in California and Arizona. Described as encompassing several rock styles, Futures included more solos and complex guitar parts than past releases, intended to expand on the atmosphere of their third studio album Clarity (1999). The songs on the album were compared to the work of Jets to Brazil and Maritime, while some of the guitar parts echoed the sound of Fugazi and Hüsker Dü.

Futures was met with favorable reaction from music critics, many of whom found it an enjoyable listen and praised the songwriting. It charted at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 after selling 98,000 copies in its first week. It would go on to sell over 615,000 copies, and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Pain" was released as the album's lead single in August 2004. Futures was promoted with headlining tours of the US, Europe, and Japan, before the band toured with Green Day in the US, the UK, and Australia. Jimmy Eat World followed the album with two further singles, "Work" in December 2004 and "Futures" in May 2005. Some publications, such as Blender, Rolling Stone, and Spin included the album on their list of the year's best releases. "Pain" was later certified gold by the RIAA and peaked at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Work" and "Futures" both reached the top 30 of the radio-only Alternative Airplay chart, with the former peaking higher at number six.