BY EMELY CLOUD KEANE
After nearly 5 years of anticipation and waiting, finally the follow up to the 2009 smash Kings and Queens (and also the four track EP The Man’s Machine), Jamie T is back with Carry on the Grudge.
With a very melancholic start – with the first few songs sounding near enough identical to each other. When he announced this album, I was so excited to hear what he had been working on for all this time.
But whilst I waited for another great hit like Sticks ‘n’ Stones, I almost felt cheated.
Expecting a similar stand out style with a new string of originality, this is a very similar sounding album with the only glimmer of originality being shadows of his former style; I thought of what could have been.
This album had all the potential of five years of feelings and passion, with Jamie himself controversially stating he only writes when he “feels like it”, this should have been five years of feelings and new sounds.
Then something almost magical happened: Trouble came on. Catchy and uplifting with some twisted lyrics, my faith returned and with a hint of female vocals adding a delicate flair to his very distinctive tone, suddenly there was this pleasant vibe.
Pleasant is the right word to describe the experience of listening to this album, everything just flows. It’s easy to listen to and unfortunately, just as easily forgotten. It lacks any of the substance that his previous work had.
Ultimately the only questions remains, is this album worth nearly an hour of listening to? For people who enjoy listening to the same, repetitive tunes, then yes, I guess it’s okay. For everyone else? It just makes you wonder how someone can regress this much, after having almost half a decade to work on an album.
As much as I realise it’s just your opinion, I think you’ve fallen into waters that most people anticipating this release have. There may not be any big hits like Sticks n Stones, Chaka Demus or Sheila but I think this album really shows improvement in his song writing abilities and his sensitivities. I don’t know why people assume because he’s been gone for half a decade that he HAS to come back with a formula that you’re expecting.
I truly encourage you to listen to this album one more time if you are using the word ‘regression’ to describe this record. The man was 23 and now 28. Was he supposed the write how much of a cheeky bastard he is all his life? I think the album is musically a step forward, and it still carries that Jamie-T vibe, though I understand it hits you it’s not 2007 anymore.
Hey Oliver, whilst I respect that this is your opinion, on my opinion (wont get into that whole confusing mess) I didn’t expect the same thing from him as before, I expected better. And though a melancholic droning with juvenile lyrics was a good intro I didn’t want to hear the exact same song repeated. Some of the tracks show improvement and are pleasant, but over all it is just a little samey for my personal taste.