On October 6th, Jamie T puts his swagger and dizzying lyrical assault back on full display with his new record “Kings & Queens.” Sophomore slump? Forget it. “I didn't do my second album,” Jamie cracks. “I did my third one instead.” Just like that. If you're asking yourself, ‘Why didn't I think of that?' – get ready. You'll find yourself saying that a lot with Jamie.
His debut album, “Panic Prevention,” hit #4 on the UK album chart, and promptly put Jamie on the map, drawing comparisons to heroes Bob Dylan and Joe Strummer. The album was nominated that year for the hallowed Mercury Music Prize, and at the 2007 NME Awards, the kid with the f*ck-all grin was named Best Solo Act – beating out the likes of Thom Yorke and Jarvis Cocker. Stateside, Jamie made his U.S. TV debut on Last Call With Carson Daly, his original “Salvador” appeared on the soundtrack to HBO's Entourage, and Panic Prevention was a heavy rotation favorite on influential station KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle.
On “Kings & Queens,” Jamie drew from all manner of sources, and isn't shy about it. In fact, he says, “I hate it when people pretend that they've never listened to someone that they obviously sound like.” Since dropping his first record, he has admittedly fallen into specific phases: a Bob Dylan phase (“That ruined my life for a bit”), then Conor Oberst, Ryan Adams (check “Emily's Heart), and a sojourn into American hardcore punk: Bad Brains, Dead Fucking Last (check “Fire Fire”). And, of course, there are the artists he grew up with: “What can I say? I keep going into record shops to buy fresh, new, upfront music… and come out with handfuls of Jam and Specials seven-inches. Stuff I already own! And who doesn't want to write a song like The Clash?”
Kings & Queens isn't flag-waving protest rock. And yet, like Dylan and the Clash, this is definitely music forged in a very specific era. Lightning fast lyrics and musical eclecticism mirror the ceaseless streams of information that batter us daily. There are moments of resilience and others of bitterness, honest reactions to the political, social, and financial crises of our times. These are songs of confrontation and confession, and sometimes jaw-dropping audacity. This is Jamie T, two years older, a little wiser, and much more experienced. “I made Panic Prevention four years ago. If this one doesn't sound different then it's a shame.”
www.jamie-t.com
www.myspace.com/jamietwimbledon
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