It can't be any worse than what I've been up to
I went to the cinema last week - we were going to see 'Gone Girl' (has anyone seen it? Would you recommend it?) but we were late and it was sold out anyway, so we ended up seeing '71', which is a thriller set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Without spoiling it, it's about a young British soldier who is sent to Belfast on his first assignment, and on their first trip out of the barracks he gets left behind by the rest of the troops and gets lost in Belfast at night. It paints a bleak picture of the time - cars burning out while being ignored by the police, a horrible scene with a bomb in a pub, plenty of gunshots and beatings. It's dark and probably not for everyone. I got a bit confused in places because some of the characters look pretty similar. And although we see the film through this young soldier's eyes, who doesn't know anything about Belfast or the Troubles, I still think it would be confusing for anyone who didn't have a little background knowledge of either. But still. If you're looking for a thriller, you could do worse.
Now, onto that Jamie T 'Carry On The Grudge' track by track I was talking about!
1. 'Limits Lie'. A lot slower than I would expect from a Jamie T opening track but it's not bad at all. Lovely chorus.
2. 'Don't You Find'. The first single. Takes a little while to get going but turns into a slow drama.
3. 'Turn On The Light'. There's something melancholic about this and I like it, particularly the last minute or so.
4. 'Zombie'. The second single. If you're only going to listen to one track, make it this one. It's really catchy and it's a bit old-school Jamie T in the rapped verse, while the chorus is a sing-along. It's got 'vintage horror film' sound effects on it and everything.
5. 'The Prophet'. I didn't like this on first listen but it's a real grower because now it's one of my favourites. Such good lyrics.
6. 'Mary Lee'. Usually I make a point of liking songs with my name in them, but I'm not keen on this.
7. 'Trouble'. I don't know what this is but I like it. It's 'funky', for want of a better word. Thumbs up for backing singers.
8. 'Rabbit Hole'. Faster than most of the tracks on this album, the verses are pretty standard Jamie T rapping. Nice.
9. 'Peter'. Surprisingly grunge-y and heavy, wouldn't be out of place on AM or 'Come Of Age' by The Vaccines.
10. 'Love Is Only a Heartbeat Away'. How sweet is this? It's a pretty little acoustic track, love it.
11. 'Murder Of Crows'. Not my favourite but it's OK.
12. 'They Told Me It Rained'. I like the bleak whistle at the start. It's a lovely little song, with a gentle tune but quite sad lyrics.
In short: I really like this album. At first I was a bit like, 'But anyone could have made this, this album is wasted on Jamie T, he's capable of something sharper and faster and better than this' but I've really warmed to it. It's a nice listen, and although I wish there was maybe one or two 'retro' Jamie T tracks with raps so fast he's practically spitting the words, it's still a great album. I have a real problem with judging people's albums based on their first, and I really need to accept that following albums aren't just going to be identikit copies, that would be boring. It's like when Arctic Monkeys came out with second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' and said of couse it was going to be different, they weren't just going to write another '12 songs about the chip shop'...even though I liked the songs about the chip shop.
Now, onto that Jamie T 'Carry On The Grudge' track by track I was talking about!
1. 'Limits Lie'. A lot slower than I would expect from a Jamie T opening track but it's not bad at all. Lovely chorus.
2. 'Don't You Find'. The first single. Takes a little while to get going but turns into a slow drama.
3. 'Turn On The Light'. There's something melancholic about this and I like it, particularly the last minute or so.
4. 'Zombie'. The second single. If you're only going to listen to one track, make it this one. It's really catchy and it's a bit old-school Jamie T in the rapped verse, while the chorus is a sing-along. It's got 'vintage horror film' sound effects on it and everything.
5. 'The Prophet'. I didn't like this on first listen but it's a real grower because now it's one of my favourites. Such good lyrics.
6. 'Mary Lee'. Usually I make a point of liking songs with my name in them, but I'm not keen on this.
7. 'Trouble'. I don't know what this is but I like it. It's 'funky', for want of a better word. Thumbs up for backing singers.
8. 'Rabbit Hole'. Faster than most of the tracks on this album, the verses are pretty standard Jamie T rapping. Nice.
9. 'Peter'. Surprisingly grunge-y and heavy, wouldn't be out of place on AM or 'Come Of Age' by The Vaccines.
10. 'Love Is Only a Heartbeat Away'. How sweet is this? It's a pretty little acoustic track, love it.
11. 'Murder Of Crows'. Not my favourite but it's OK.
12. 'They Told Me It Rained'. I like the bleak whistle at the start. It's a lovely little song, with a gentle tune but quite sad lyrics.
In short: I really like this album. At first I was a bit like, 'But anyone could have made this, this album is wasted on Jamie T, he's capable of something sharper and faster and better than this' but I've really warmed to it. It's a nice listen, and although I wish there was maybe one or two 'retro' Jamie T tracks with raps so fast he's practically spitting the words, it's still a great album. I have a real problem with judging people's albums based on their first, and I really need to accept that following albums aren't just going to be identikit copies, that would be boring. It's like when Arctic Monkeys came out with second album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare' and said of couse it was going to be different, they weren't just going to write another '12 songs about the chip shop'...even though I liked the songs about the chip shop.