Talk about living in a constant state of emergency... everything in Kings & Queens, the second album from 23-year-old south-Londoner Jamie Treays, makes me believe that yes, this guy lives life at full speed and you bet he does it with a smile. And even when not taking things too seriously (which he doesn't), his songs exude a sense of vitality that sounds too damm contagious to become indifferent. Starting things the most charming way possible, a voice repeats "He's three hundred / three hundred and sixty eight"... which, for a fact, is the amount of beer needed to reach inebriation. And from here on, the party never stops, with each song sounding like a gigantic anthem on its own, touching everything from punk to hip-hop to folk and including a multitude of textures and layers of addictive sounds. Hook after kook, we're taken into a travel narrated by a real-life guy with a big will to tell us some amazing stories. And at the same time, he's also guiding us through a roller coaster that goes from one so-damm-catchy chorus to another, while never abandoning a witty sense of humour and cockney attitude that we've seen in The Streets' best days. The fact that everything seems like a highpoint is not to be overlooked. This really feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience, at least when it matters most, i.e. right now. Talk about living the moment... (9/10)
Jamie T - The Man's Machine (video)
www.jamie-t.com
www.myspace.com/jamietwimbledon
No comments:
Post a Comment