The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviews or reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Jimmy Eat World
Stay on My Side Tonight EP
[Interscope, 2005]

I didn't think I'd be referring to a new Jimmy Eat World disc as restrained, but they've calmed themselves a bit since the release of Futures. "Disintegration" never lives up to its title, staying together my smoldering as a nearly successful artsy number. The other two originals, "Over" and "Closer" build slowly from the EP's opener. They don't have the kind of hooks that Jimmy employed on the last album, and its easy to see why they were held back. That's not to fault these songs, which work well enough and maintain a disc-long cohesiveness, even when followed by a lethargic cover of Heatmiser's "Half Right." The band misses the attempt to echo the earlier smolder and reveal a hidden knack for subtle intensity. The big misstep comes with the last track, a remix of "Drugs or Me" that's neither smooth enough to wind down the disc nor interesting enough to stand on its own. Two discs in a row now have surprised me—Futures for being better than I expected, and this one for demonstrating a different kind of craft. I guess it'll take one more record before I can tell if I have these guys pinned down.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Crime in Stereo
The Contract EP
[Blackout, 2005]

This disc gets noticed for its special song title, "Long Song Titles Aren't Cool Anymore Because the Best of You Fuckers Are No Good at It." The 30-second track barely has more words within it, and they amount to "Goth-y people suck." It's a moment of defining the band's sub-culture, but the band never gets as badass as it wants you to think it is. "Jesus Is My Ride Home" offers hope for and meaning to a possible escape within society's restrictions, but the group boils down to more suburban angst with heavy guitars and shouty vocals.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Caroline
Where's My Love CD single
[Temporary Residence, 2005]

So MySpace can actually get you signed? That's terrible news, because now we're going to have even more people slapping sub-sketch-comedy numbers up there. But Caroline proves it is possible, and she's got the debut single on an honest-to-goodness CD to prove it. She does okay with her time, singing in an elven soprano (is that too Bjork?) over simple electronic music that's basic and pleasing. "Where's My Love" is followed by its own "Magical Mix", which adds little while subtracting some ambience from the original. The other track, "Time Swells" starts off as if it's forgotten to move forward, but Caroline uses a few beats and a synth to pick it up momentarily. The track doesn't quite hold, though—her sighing voice and "la la la" could be put to better use in a more interesting setting. As for MySpace—well, just because it's there doesn't mean you have to visit.
[Justin Cober-Lake]