JIM-Jamie Lidell

Jim-
Jamie Lidell
Status-Out as of 2008
Label-Warp
Rating-4 Feathers

Known by his live performances for being an extremely active one-man band/beatbox, for his smooth soulful voice, and his work with Beck, Jamie Lidell is one interesting person. Taking a detour from his previous electronica-inspired ‘Multiply’, ‘Jim’ heavily represents his soul-side. ‘Another Day’ wakes you up with a pure positive aura. Even if you aren’t into soul, this song can’t help but make you smile. The simple bright piano and patterned clapping capture your ear by making your mood strongly increase. The song screams ‘This is the first day of the rest of my life!’. ‘Wait For Me’ is also very optimistic, but more soul oriented. The lyrics are a little over-repetitive, but you can appreciate that it’s a good song. ‘Out of My System’ is very 70’s, making it different from the last two. Maybe he just had to get it out of his system. ‘All I Wanna Do’ is basically the midway break most albums have. Though very slow, his voice builds to gain a large amount of passion keeping the song alive. ‘A Little Bit of Feel Good’ is my personal favorite. The lively tone and the use of horns during the chorus compliment the vocals with perfection. ‘Figured Me Out’ nicely balances his electronic and soul abilities, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. The keyboard is downright fruity and pretty irritating. ‘Hurricane’ is like an electronic version of ‘Old Brown Shoe’ by The Beatles. The experimental-ness is very likeable, especially how he still keeps the structure intact. ‘Green Light’ is another slow song, but this time it sounds like the eighties. It’s very bee-gees and too soft-disco for my liking. ‘Where d’You Go?’ has the basic feel of the first two songs, so if it were more original it’d better. Some high-points are where he goes ‘This is why I cry’ which is awkwardly very entertaining. ‘Rope of Sad’ ends the album with a very dreamy/spacy rope of sad, what ever that is. It’s very nicely arranged, but it’s more melancholy than you’d expect the album to end. Overall, this album was surprisingly good. Taking a huge risk by changing your music drastically can end one’s career, but if anything in this case, it shows he’s got talent for how successful it was. Even if you’re not into soul, like me, you understand that this album is marvelous and that it’s very easy to like.

“I’m proud of the songs because they show me as the person I am. Jim, the guy that makes optimistic music, the songsmith, I just really needed to get that out of my system.”-Jamie Lidell

Video for Another Day

Jamie Lidell's Official Website
Note: I know I've been not keeping up with my reviews and I promised reviews last week, but I didn't so I apologize. This is a very short review: I tried to make it short and too the point therefore making it a quicker read. I hope you enjoy and I'll get atleast another review out this week!