Nu Rave Brain Wave

I think one thing that we can all agree on is that Jamie T doesn’t take things too seriously. That’s not to say that he doesn’t work hard, put out quality songs and albums or tour them accordingly. I’m just saying, Jamie T likes to have some fun. His brilliance (yep, I said it) on his first album, 2007′s Kev Kharas-adored Panic Prevention seemed almost accidental. It was hidden behind youthful bravado, wicked grins, and the pervasive (and effective) use of none more wonky keyboards. Having released a strong, Mercury Prize-approved debut with enough hooks to gut a fish, Jamie T waited almost two years before releasing new material. Yeah, I’m not counting ‘Fire Fire’, which almost nobody seemed to notice.

But the mid-section of 2009 saw the floodgates open, with Jamie T and the Pacemakers releasing two EPs to precede the release of Kings and Queens, featuring six strong songs that didn’t make it onto the record. So the expectations for this album were really high, although I wouldn’t exactly call it hype. Mr T was adamant that he was going to let the songs develop on their own and take the course that they presented, rather than rush them in an effort to capitalize on first album success the way so many of his landfill peers did to their detriment. Giving these songs the space to develop, and with the assistance of his best friend/producer/band member Ben Bones, Jamie T and the Pacemakers have made a masterful album, capitalizing on everything he initiated with Panic Prevention.

’368′ begins with possibly the most grating voice imaginable, repeating “He’s three hundred / three hundred and sixty eight”, though the song does have a lot of charm – for starters, it’s about the amount of beer needed to reach inebriation. Remember what I said about Jamie T not taking things too seriously? ‘Hocus Pocus’ is one of the most rhythmically driven tracks on the album, and even though Jamie sounds not unlike the new Alex Turner, he still manages to showcase a knack for flow and enunciation that the Monkey in chief has arguable abandoned. There’s nothing about ‘Sticks ‘N’ Stones’ that isn’t anthemic or summery, but don’t hold it against the song. The keyboard hook is stunning, but it rears its head sparingly (unlike some on Panic Prevention) and lets the lyrics about rebellious youth (no, we’re not tired of that yet) speak for themselves. “Pat on my back and a swing on my brew / You’re still my friend, it’s impossible to hate you / Cradle to the grave, I know we always misbehave” could well be Jamie T’s mission statement.

‘The Man’s Machine’ is an incredibly deceptive song, commencing with a minute long into/sample; but once the beat comes in and the keyboard and guitar wash over you, you’re practically at Jamie’s mercy as he spits away. It’s a curveball start, but the chorus is as big as any he’s ever written. It’s one of the best on the album. ‘Emily’s Heart’ is Jamie flexing his range muscle. It’s him alone on the acoustic with only a little help on a couple of lines, as stripped down as he gets, but as cohesive a song as any he’s written.

‘Chaka Demus’ has seen a couple of incarnations before it wound up here. There was a leaked single version, the EP version, and the Ben Bones/Jamie T mix, but they really did some quality self editing from the leaked song to get to this. It’s still catchy as fuck and keeps the jubilant guitar line, but it took the hammy quality of that first version, and still kept the focus on the lyrics, including probably the album’s best line: “Two world wars and one world cup / Used to have an empire then we grew up / Lost everything who gives a fuck”. Sometimes the simplicity of Jamie’s lyrics are what makes them as cutting as they can be.

‘Spider’s Web’ is perhaps the album highpoint. I say that even though in the first 35 seconds Jamie says, “Making in-jokes about Americana” and “Obama sounds like Osama to me”. Over sunny finger picking, you can practically see the wry smile on his face as he says things that’d get him punched in the face under any other circumstance. It builds beautifully: with each passing verse another instrument or beat gets added to the mixing pot and they all go together brilliantly. It’s an amalgamation of everything that is great about Jamie T: his ability to go acoustic and soft, his droll humor mixed over an infectious beat with a huge chorus; by the very end of it you can’t imagine it’s the same song that you started with. And that’s really where his talent lies.

Kings and Queens is a resounding success. Okay, maybe it’s a tried and true formula that Jamie T and Ben Bones have created, but their textured, layered songs each have something new to offer upon every listen, and they’ve mastered the art to near perfection. Jamie T and the Pacemakers have most certainly cemented their position as Merry Pranksters, injecting their youthful effervescence into a musical landscape that can take things far too seriously.

Feel free to leave me wonderful comments and feed back here and at Drowned in Sound.

Jamie T has announced the release date for his second album ‘Kings & Queens’.

The highly-anticipated album will come out on September 7.

The album features the following tracklisting:

’368′
‘Hocus Pocus’
‘Sticks N’ Stones’
‘The Man’s Machine’
‘Emily’s Heart’
‘Chaka Demus’
‘Spider’s Web’
‘Castro Dies’
‘Earth, Wind And Fire’
‘British Intelligence’
‘Jilly Armeen’

HEADS UP! JAMIE T HAS A NEW EP PRECEEDING HIS LP: Jamie will release his next single ‘Chaka Demus EP’ on 31st August. His second album ‘Kings & Queens’ will then follow on 7th September.

Oh my god. I’m sorry I can’t even contain myself. Kings and Queens is going to (in all likelyhood) be one of the greatest albums of the year. And it’s probably going to go down as a personal favorite of mine for years to come. I am so excited. Chaka Demus is a pop song. It’s a damn good one. Jamie’s songs span so much territory (and yet never seem jittery, and always connect to each other, but that really is what is so special about Jamie T, isn’t it?) and sometimes it’s easy to forget that he CAN write a great pop song. I mean, what is “Sheila”, really? This is a lot like Sticks ‘N Stones and to be honest, it sounds really great. Jamie kind of plays up his ham-my side up on this song but it’s so endearing, it’s ridiculous. Okay, I’m not making sense, but whatever Jamie T is incredible and you’d be a fool not to download the radio rip of this – which is the only avaliable version at the moment.

DOWNLOAD -> CHAKA DEMUS by JAMIE T

1. 368
2. Hocus Pocus
3. Sticks ‘n’ Stones
4. The Man’s Machine
5. Emily’s Heart
6. Chaka Demus
7. Spider’s Web
8. Castro Dies
9. Earth, Wind & Fire
10. .British Intelligence
11. .Jilly Armeen

Jamie T’s second album Kings & Queens will be out on 7th September. Pre-order the CD now from Play.com or Amazon.

Can I just say…. oh my god!

For a couple of days now, I’ve wanted to do some sort of massive Jamie T love and appreciation post. I think its just because I pretty much own everything this mf has ever put out, and I love his music so much that I had to share this bootleg with you. This is a really old bootleg, it’s from October 2006, which is coincidentally right around the time I first got into Jamie’s music. I wanted to include it because I’ve been listening to a lot of the older songs recently and NWA and Fox News are two of his best songs that never really went anywhere, sadly. Anyway, enjoy this… it’s fantastic. PS. It’s got the amaaazing cover of Billy Bragg’s “A New England”.

Oh! Another thing… this bootleg has the song ‘Ike and Tina’… Er, I probably don’t talk about this song enough seeing as it’s one of my favorites of all time, but on record this song is one thing, and live its something completely different. While the recorded version is the one I prefer, the live one still has this incredible drive, and just takes on a whole life the way Jamie performs it. It’s just so youthful…. and the lyrics! God everything about it.

Panic Prevention Disco, London Scala, 10/19/2006
Back in the Game
Brand New Bass Guitar
If You Got The Money
A New England
Northern Line
Pacemaker
Salvador
Sheila
So Lonely Was The Ballad
Calm Down Dearest
NWA (Not Without Apology)
Fox News
Ike & Tina
Alicia Keys

Ps. Anybody notice the similarities between NWA and Dance of the Young Professional? Also the similarities between St. Christopher and the iTunes session version of Calm Down Dearest? Just saying….

That’s right, my favorite person, Jamie T is adding to his couple of October UK dates and fleshing it out into an almost-full-fledged tour. I say almost because he is skipping out on one of my favorite places in the world, and my future home, BRIGHTON and I just don’t understand. Jamie loves Brighton. Hopefully he’ll add more but so far….

Bristol O2 Academy (October 1)
Southampton Guildhall (2)
Birmingham O2 Academy (3)
Newcastle Northumbria University (5)
Nottingham Rock City (6)
Norwich UEA (7)
Glasgow Barrowlands (9)
Preston University 53 Degrees (10)
Sheffield O2 Academy (11)
Manchester Academy (13)
Leeds O2 Academy (14)
London Brixton O2 Academy (15)

Don’t forget that Jamie T’s new EP, “Sticks ‘n Stones” came out yesterday and I talked a little bit about it here.

(Note: we at Nu Rave Brain Wave reserve the right to be incredibly biased and to heap praise on those that deserve it. That is all.)

So Jamie T’s new EP, “Sticks ‘N Stones” drops in the UK on Monday and I couldn’t be more excited. Since his 2007 Mercury Prize nominated, ‘Panic Prevention’, we’ve only gotten a couple of new songs, so the anticipation for this EP is really high. It’s just a little taster though, clocking in at only 4 songs, before his new album, tentatively titled, ‘Kings and Queens’, which should be released in September.

“Dance of the Young Professional” is kind of like a burlesque dance, it’s dark and sinister, but it pulls you in nonetheless. When I first heard it, I couldn’t decide if it was excellent because Jamie was just a tiny bit off beat, or perhaps its the electronic string bit that is just off target, but after a few listens, I could see how they meld together to create the image of the grimy underworld, kind of like the parties Chuck Bass throws on Gossip Girl, you know, with his burlesque club with absinthe flowing.

On The Green and Sticks and Stones are definitely the standouts from this excellent EP. ‘On The Green’ sees Jamie return to a bit of the acoustic stuff that he does so well. Having heard the acoustic version of almost every song off of ‘Panic Prevention’, it’s a testimate to the songs durability and timelessness that they can work so well and be so textured on the album and still be so simple and brilliant acoustic as well. On The Green is that way. It’s really infectuous and I hate describing music that way, but I honestly couldn’t help but groove along, and it’s no secret that Jamie has a way with phrases, but he also has a way with pacing that works in his favor (“So they took me to a cell / Threw away the key / And damned me right back to down to hell /I said, well I haven’t been home in a while”). But what I notice is that Jamie has kind of a way of fucking with the structure of phrases that at first don’t make any grammatical sense but eventually you come to know that it’s a great way of saying it, ex: “Standing over her with a gun in my hand / I made my baby bleed / It’s not my fault / She shot first me”. That’s right, you read correctly, Jamie T is so good, he doesn’t even need to use good grammar.

Sticks and Stones is a song I’ve had on repeat for weeks, and I think I’ve already talked about it twice but it deserves another small mention. Although it would probably fit in seamlessly with ‘Panic Prevention’, whereas the other songs would be midlly out of place, it’s still excellent – the perfect summer song, basically reiterating his call to arms, “When there’s no one left to fight / boys like us don’t shine so bright / as soon as I see the dust settle / Let’s go out and find some trouble”. Excellent stuff.

All four songs, unique in their own ways, really cement Jamie T and the Pacemakers’ reputation for being Merry Pranksters; lads about town making trouble, drinking, smoking, but mostly, effortlessly excelling at making smart, catchy, witty, rhythmic, descriptive, genre-spanning songs and doing it with their own ‘boys-of-the-streets (but are they really?)’ swagger.

9/10

By the by, I just thought I’d mention that this is our 1,000th post here at Nu Rave Brain Wave. We’ve almost been running for 2 years now and have only improved and gotten more excellent as time has passed. That is all, just patting ourselves on the back.

Celebrate!

He’ll be stopping by Australian in September. I would just also like to add that ‘On The Green’ which is another track from the forth-coming EP ‘Sticks ‘n Stones’ is on Jamie T’s myspace and may I just say that this EP is going to blow us all away and be so amazing. That is all, just wanted to let you know that I’m calling it now:

September 2009:
17th — Metro Theatre, Sydney
20th — Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom, Melbourne
23rd — Hi Fi Bar and Ballroom, Brisbane
24th — The Gov, Adelaide
25th — The Fly By Night Club, Fremantle
26th — Wave Rock, Wave Rock Festival

mp3 | FOX NEWS by JAMIE T

Yes, yes, I know I’ve already posted Jamie T’s fantastic new song, ‘Sticks ‘N Stones’ for y’all to enjoy. However, it was a radio rip which is censored and not the greatest quality ever. BUT, you’re in luck, fake m’am. I have gotten my grubby little hands on the actual single version of the song – cursing and all. It IS a Jamie T song after all so when it’s censored, it loses approximately 25 words per song. ‘Sticks ‘N Stones’ is one of my favorite songs of the summer, and I know I’ve dubbed like 6 songs that so far but still, this song is amazing. It’s truly a Jamie T classic. It’s got all the components that he’s used to his success so far and he only improves his signature of wonky keyboard lines that waver in and out between the prominent bass line and the sparse, but important guitar lines all beneath Jamie’s witty lyrics and this song features an incredibly illustrious chorus that begs to be shouted. One specific thing about Jamie T and the Pacemakers that I love is their enthusiasm and the distinct impression that you get is that they are just enjoying the ride and having a really great time. Seriously, it just seems like they are always having the best time ever. I love it and I think it really does shine through in the songs. I’m looking forward to June 29th for the release of this EP and the album I’m pretty sure is going to BLOW US ALL AWAY. God, I can’t wait. Until then, this song will keep me happy.

DOWNLOAD -> STICKS N STONES (SINGLE VERSION) by JAMIE T

Ps. I don’t know if I’ve said enough that I really do think Jamie T is a poet and an incredible lyricist but here’s some standouts from this song. First, the heartwarming, “I don’t know who I am,  he said, I don’t know if I can, I said yeah man you can can.” And secondly, the fab, “Girls we love, leave when we want them to stay, like today remember what they always say…” then it goes right into the chorus. God, I love them.

Jamie T will play his largest ever show, a headline appearance at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, on October 15.

The date follows the previous announcement of a full UK tour, set to kick off in Leeds on June 11.

His new ‘Sticks’N'Stones’ EP comes out on June 29, just after the singer plays Glastonbury Festival on June 26.

Jamie T’s second album, titled ‘Kings And Queens’, will be released later this summer.

Tickets for the new London date go on sale at 10am (BST) tomorrow morning (June 3).

Jamie T will play:

Leeds Cockpit (June 11)
Cambridge Junction (12)
Northampton Roadmender (13)
Nottingham Rescue Rooms (14)
Newcastle Stage 2 (16)
Aberdeen Moshulu (17)
Edinburgh Studio 24 (18)
Coventry Kasbah (19)
Bristol Thekla (21)
Manchester Moho Live (23)
London Electric Ballroom (24)
London O2 Academy Brixton (October 15)