The power of Taylor Swift is so strong that when she lip-synced and danced along to Jimmy Eat World’s 2002 hit “The Middle” in a commercial for Apple Music, the band’s biggest-ever song suddenly surged back onto the iTunes chart, hitting the top 40 nearly 15 years after its original release. Nice as that might have been, though, the Arizona-based Jimmy Eat World doesn’t need Taylor Swift in order to reach fans, and has been consistently touring and releasing albums of catchy, bright alt-rock.
The band’s ninth release, last year’s Integrity Blues, debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard album charts and also marked the band’s highest-ever chart position in the U.K. Lead single “Sure and Certain” is their biggest hit in six years, proving they can compete with any current alt-rock hitmakers. All Music called Integrity Blues the band’s “most immediately accessible and focused album in years, a peak ... of these reinvigorated and endearing stalwarts.” Maybe Swift should give it a listen.
House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 7:30 p.m. April 21, starting at $28 plus tax and fee. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
