The Holophonics - MaSKArades Vol. 12: Jimmy Eat World: Clarity
As the album title implies, this album is both the twelfth in The Holophonics' MaSKArade series and a complete cover of Jimmy Eat World's Clarity. I have a passing familiarity with The Holophonics and their music, primarily that they're a ska band (in case that also wasn't implied by the album title), and that they put out cover albums at a very rapid rate (the first MaSKArades volume was released in 2012). I feel like I probably came across the band during my tenure as an editor at DyingScene, but if I didn't, then they definitely popped up on my radar in 2014 when they released the fifth MaSKArades album, a full cover of Saves the Day's Stay What You Are. Within the first week of its release it felt like everyone was sending me links to their Bandcamp. It was probably closer to five or six people, but at the time it felt like everyone. I remember listening to some of it, but I don't think I liked it as much as I wanted to like it. (It mostly just made me want to listen to the originals.)
I wasn't sure if I wanted to listen to this. As I alluded to in my post about Cheer Up I can get a bit irritated at albums with too many covers, particularly if they're being treated as mere novelties (though it stands to reason that I should view cover albums as differently because... well, the whole point of a cover album is to have lots of covers). Clarity is one of my favorite albums. I was late to the game to it- I was a ride-or-die Bleed American fan until maybe three or four years ago when I saw Jimmy Eat World play "For Me This Is Heaven" live. I feel like that was the moment I decided to really dive into the album and see what made it so special for people outside of "Lucky Denver Mint" and "Your New Aesthetic." Here's a semi-related tangent: at that same show I thought it was funny to hear them play "Your New Aesthetic" while playing all of their big pop singles, as well as a cover of Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Getting Back Together."
Anyway, back to this album: I'm home of the many people who hold Clarity in high regard and I was worried that this was going to be some kind of novelty listen. It's nothing personal against The Holophonics, it's just when band puts out 12 cover albums in five years, most of which are covers of high charting songs that have appeared on various Now That's What I Call Music! compilations, there's going to be a sliver of doubt creeping around, wondering if they'll do these songs justice or if they're just being played for laughs. Fortunately my worries were laid to rest almost immediately. I wouldn't say everything about this album works, but even with a few missteps it's clear that The Holophonics are not phoning it in here.
That said, I'm not sure how often I'll be coming back to this one. This definitely feels like a project born out of a deep passion and love for the original album, for sure, and I wouldn't steer anyone away from checking it out if asked. But, and this is exactly the same problem I had with The Holophonics' cover of Stay What You Are, listening to this just makes me want to listen to Jimmy Eat World's Clarity. That's not even really a "problem" per se, because it means the songs are done well enough to remind me of the originals.
You can listen to MaSKArades Vol. 12: Jimmy Eat World: Clarity below and form your own opinion.
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