Jimmy Eat World is 17 years old this year, but while all his friends are applying to college, learning a trade or enlisting in the Army, little Jimmy is having a hard time finding his way. He knows he should grow up, but he’s still putting out the same angsty emo music he was listening to back in middle school, just dressing it up under the guise of maturity.

In fact, the best cuts off “Invented” come when Jimmy Eat World chucks the façade and gets back to its power-pop roots, as on “Coffee and Cigarettes.” The band can still build swelling arena rock with the best of them, even if the production is a bit too polished and sterile. Yet there’s something disconcerting and, dare we say, dishonest about a band of 30-somethings singing about the problems of teenagers. (Are you listening, Weezer?) Too often, though, the band finds itself fumbling through over-serious, down-tempo bore-fests. If you’re looking for the next “The Middle,” come back when the band’s through its growing pains.

for fans of: Motion City Soundtrack,

tracks to download: “Coffee and Cigarettes,” “Action Needs an Audience”