In 1995, which marked the departure of original bassist Mitch Porter and his replacement by Rick Burch, Jimmy Eat World signed a major-label deal and began recording Static Prevails, issued in 1996. Critics and college radio programmers noted the intriguing range of the disc, introduced by the infectious, up-tempo opener "Thinking, That's All" and cemented with the subdued finale "Anderson Mesa." Despite their status as a major-label band, however, Adkins, guitarist-singer Tom Linton, Burch and Lind handled the most crucial artist-development chores on their own. Continuing to slog it out on the road, they still managed to record and release split singles with comrades Mineral, Jejune, Sense Field and Blueprint.

Clarity, co-produced by the band and longtime collaborator Mark Trombino (Blink-182, Drive Like Jehu), arrived in early 1999. In true Jimmy Eat World fashion, the disc was preceded by a self-titled EP released on tiny independent Fueled By Ramen that featured the Clarity standouts "Lucky Denver Mint" and "For Me This Is Heaven" and a demo version of "Your New Aesthetic." The band's indefatigable efforts began to pay off when Clarity's first-week sales alone amounted to nearly half of what Static Prevails had sold to date.

"Lucky Denver Mint" began gaining momentum at Los Angeles' trend-setting KROQ and was even tapped for inclusion on the soundtrack to the Drew Barrymore flick "Never Been Kissed." Nonetheless, it seemed that Jimmy's agenda and that of the label were following along divergent paths. In Clarity's lyrics careful listeners detected a business world-weariness that belied the band's tender age ("The formula is too thin ... / Imitate and water down"; "Don't kid yourself/ You know they want money"). Before long, Jimmy Eat World and their label parted ways. The band is now signed to Dreamworks Records and are doing very well.