Static Prevails is the second studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on July 23, 1996, through Capitol Records.

Jimmy Eat World released their self-titled debut studio album, through local label Wooden Blue Records in December 1994.

[1] As the members left high school, frontman Jim Adkins worked for a production company with Joel Leibow, co-founder of Wooden Blue.

[2] Christie Front Drive were planned to support Sense Field in Los Angeles, California and sought to cobble a touring schedule with Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, contacting Adkins and Leibow's company for a gig in Phoenix, Arizona.

The track was a departure from pop-punk into a new sound Jimmy Eat World were experimenting with; drummer Zach Lind said the music of Christie Front Drive was a direct influence on the sonic shift.

The members had been conscious of a feature in Maximum Rocknroll titled "Some of Your Friends Are Already Fucked", where Adkins said they learned about "the horror stories of getting screwed [over by labels].

[12] Up to 1995, Capitol Records had a prosperous 1990s, having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1992, the addition of Gary Gersh as the label's new president in 1993 and the mining of its back catalog thanks to past artists such as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.

"[13] Though Israel was not aware of the type of artists the other scouts were eyeing up, he himself sought a group that could composed radio-appropriate hit songs and were magazine cover-friendly.

"[14] Israel thought Jimmy Eat World, despite the rough edge of their earlier releases, had writing potential and physical attractiveness that Capitol might be able to grow and sell.

Journalist Dan Ozzi, in his book Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994–2007 (2021), wrote Jimmy Eat World resembled Boy Scouts that did not have the aggressive characteristic of Nirvana, nor the power-chord knack of Green Day.

[12] The band were shown around the Capitol Records' offices and over the next few months, they struck up a strong rapport with Aaronson and Israel, viewing them as actual individuals instead of Maximum Rockandroll-envisaged corporate businessmen.

Adkins said the choices were either Capitol or keep issuing releases on his roommate's label, realising that Wooden Blue Records could not be an acceptable operation any further.

[17] Gersh yielded his position and agreed to have Aaronson offer a development deal to start with, which allowed Capitol Records to have a claim to Jimmy Eat World.

As such, the members of Jimmy Eat World retained their jobs, such as at an art supply store and temp agency, in order to cover rent.

[19] The label did purchase a $20,000 pre-owned Ford econoline van for the band, which allowed them to tour without the threat of breaking down, giving them an advantage over their contemporaries.

Aaronson was discussing the band's songwriting process, which he felt made no sense; Adkins explained they used to write songs as a series of interesting parts one after another.

[24] As Aaronson and Israel wanted to schedule recording time for Jimmy Eat World, excited to see what they would create, they asked the members if there was anyone in mind they wished to work with.

Lind said Adkins played them Drive Like Jehu before; the members of Jimmy Eat World also enjoyed other acts Trominbo had worked with, such as Boys Life and Boilermaker.

[23] Aaronson felt his superiors would not gel with Trombino's lack of credentials, and decided to bring in Wes Kidd to fill the producer's role.

[26] At the label's insistence, Jimmy Eat World went to a rehearsal room in Los Angeles, having been told to write some new songs and rewrite others,[27] being guided by Kidd.

[26] Capitol initially wanted the production duo of Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, who had previously produced for the likes of the Foo Fighters and Beck, to helm the album.

[11] Ozzi remarked that where Adkins had previously crammed a lot of lyrics into fast-paced punk rock verses, for the new songs, he spread out the words and let them "occupy the space the band created for themselves.

[42] For sometime, Linton struggled with the song's lyrics; he only came up with them while in the bathroom at the studio "looking at aerosol cans and trying to find some rhythming words to match the verse".

[53] Adkins said that major labels knew what to do with artists that shifted thousands of albums per week, such as Green Day and Jawbreaker, yet were stumped on what to do with Jimmy Eat World, whose collective sales racked up 2,000 copies across all their releases.

[28] It was filmed at Koo's Cafe, a DIY venue in Santa Ana, California, with directing brother and sister duo Richard and Stefanie Reines,[24] both founders of Drive-Thru Records and friends of Jimmy Eat World.

Leibow began an internship at Capitol during this time and directly saw how the label was fine with allowing Static Prevails get buried under other releases from the year, such as one from the Butthole Surfers, which he was told to promote instead.

[59] Capitol felt the original version of "Seventeen" would work in the film Never Been Kissed (1999), and in return for letting them use it in the movie, the band members met Drew Barrymore.

[33] Journalist Chris Ryan, writing in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), called it a product of the time period it was made in, complete with "anxiety-ridden vocals, lyrics of suburban melodrama, and screaming punk guitars".

Club noted that like with similar punk artists that joined major labels, Jimmy Eat World lost of a lot older fans and earned a minuscule amount of new ones with Static Prevails.

[24] Louder writer Alistair Lawrence said songs like "Claire" and "Digits" made "something uneven but distinct, which would unintentionally form part of the roadmap for emo's rite of passage through the late '90s".