"left my heart within your care"
i am really really really really really loving the new james album, hey ma. it took a couple of listens to get into, but particularly after seeing so many of the songs performed live, i have fallen so hard for its beauty.
though it retains many of the production flairs and signature-style hooks of recent james albums (pleased to meet you and millionaires), it almost denies that whiplash or even laid and wah wah even existed. it harkens most back to the days of seven, thanks in no small part i'm sure to the return of trumpet player andy diagram to the fold. it's almost as though james went back in time 15 years with the sensibility, knowledge, and politique of current times, and altered the past so that their younger counterparts never concocted laid; instead they created hey ma and locked it in a time capsule for a decade and a half.
hey ma feels nostalgic and reminscent in that way that still sounds new and refreshing, but at the same time tingling; probing the melodies of your memory like a lullabye you were once sung as a child but have since forgotten the words to. it is upbeat and driving, happy-sounding despite some very serious and dramatic themes within the stories unfolding through tim booth's lyrics.
everything about this album is a constantly-building crescendo, in the best kind of way. it is heartwarming (bubbles and oh my heart), it is political (hey ma and 72), it is introspective and emotional (semaphore and upside). it fills you more and more 'til you're about to burst at the end, with the final song i wanna to go home.
i highly recommend this album, and it will surely make my top 5 of 2008.
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in other grand and awesome music news: i am going to see EL-P and Dizzee Rascal tonight! yes!
though it retains many of the production flairs and signature-style hooks of recent james albums (pleased to meet you and millionaires), it almost denies that whiplash or even laid and wah wah even existed. it harkens most back to the days of seven, thanks in no small part i'm sure to the return of trumpet player andy diagram to the fold. it's almost as though james went back in time 15 years with the sensibility, knowledge, and politique of current times, and altered the past so that their younger counterparts never concocted laid; instead they created hey ma and locked it in a time capsule for a decade and a half.
hey ma feels nostalgic and reminscent in that way that still sounds new and refreshing, but at the same time tingling; probing the melodies of your memory like a lullabye you were once sung as a child but have since forgotten the words to. it is upbeat and driving, happy-sounding despite some very serious and dramatic themes within the stories unfolding through tim booth's lyrics.
everything about this album is a constantly-building crescendo, in the best kind of way. it is heartwarming (bubbles and oh my heart), it is political (hey ma and 72), it is introspective and emotional (semaphore and upside). it fills you more and more 'til you're about to burst at the end, with the final song i wanna to go home.
i highly recommend this album, and it will surely make my top 5 of 2008.
--
in other grand and awesome music news: i am going to see EL-P and Dizzee Rascal tonight! yes!