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Having found a situation they quite like, U.K. pop outsiders James reunite with producer Max Dingel and London's Rak Studios for Girl at the End of the World, their 14th album together. Building on the musical bed they established with 2014's La Petite Mort, the veteran Mancunian outfit up the ante with a big, vibrant affair that is heavy on electronics and pulsating dance rhythms. The fruit of a feverish, three-week full-band writing session in Scotland, James' collaborative approach has yielded a robust record with some mighty peaks and even a few extended jams. The two minutes of electro-pop riffing that introduce opening track "Bitch" set a tone that, in spite of all of its shimmering studio ear candy, seems built for the stage. Singer Tim Booth's defiant blend of wry grit and lush romanticism remains a hallmark of James' sound as he alternately rhymes "Were you just born an asshole? Rage in exile!" during the feisty chorus of "To My Surprise," before tenderly intoning "Nothing but love is the drug of healing" in the very next song. Highlights like "Attention" and the churning electro-epic "Surfer's Song" rely on massive, intense crescendos that are another James specialty and a sure sign that their collective gears are well-oiled even after several decades playing together. While recurring themes of death and mortality ran through La Petite Mort in a loosely conceptual unity, there are times when Girl at the End of the World seems a little stylistically scattershot and lacking in cohesion. Still, James have always spun a lot of competing self-variations into their music and that range is a part of their lasting appeal. Between this record and its predecessor, their creativity seems to have entered a fertile new phase.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
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Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Drums, Percussion, Synth Bass - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar, Violin - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Percussion, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals - Tim Booth, Backing Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Brian Eno, Synthesizer - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar - Tim Booth, Backing Vocals - Larry Gott, Slide Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Adrian Oxaal, Mandolin - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - Mark Hunter, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Tim Booth, Lead Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Slide Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Drums, Synthesizer - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer - Mark Hunter, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet - Saul Davies, Drums, Electric Guitar - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Mark Hunter, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Saul Davies, Electric Guitar, Violin - Tim Booth, Lead Vocals - Larry Gott, Slide Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - Mark Hunter, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet - Saul Davies, Electric Violin - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Electric Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer - Mark Hunter, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet - Tim Booth, Vocals - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Joel Davies, AdditionalEngineer - James, MainArtist - Jim Glennie, Bass Guitar - Max Dingel, Producer, Mixer, Percussion - Mark Hunter, Drums, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Andy Diagram, Trumpet, Backing Vocals - David Baynton-Power, Drums - Saul Davies, Acoustic Guitar - Tim Booth, Vocals - Larry Gott, Slide Guitar - Manon Grandjean, Engineer - Ran Steiner, AdditionalEngineer - Adrian Oxaal, Cello, Mandolin - Hannes Plattmeier, Engineer - Izzy Grundy, AdditionalEngineer - Ron Yeadon, Backing Vocals
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2015 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
Album review
Having found a situation they quite like, U.K. pop outsiders James reunite with producer Max Dingel and London's Rak Studios for Girl at the End of the World, their 14th album together. Building on the musical bed they established with 2014's La Petite Mort, the veteran Mancunian outfit up the ante with a big, vibrant affair that is heavy on electronics and pulsating dance rhythms. The fruit of a feverish, three-week full-band writing session in Scotland, James' collaborative approach has yielded a robust record with some mighty peaks and even a few extended jams. The two minutes of electro-pop riffing that introduce opening track "Bitch" set a tone that, in spite of all of its shimmering studio ear candy, seems built for the stage. Singer Tim Booth's defiant blend of wry grit and lush romanticism remains a hallmark of James' sound as he alternately rhymes "Were you just born an asshole? Rage in exile!" during the feisty chorus of "To My Surprise," before tenderly intoning "Nothing but love is the drug of healing" in the very next song. Highlights like "Attention" and the churning electro-epic "Surfer's Song" rely on massive, intense crescendos that are another James specialty and a sure sign that their collective gears are well-oiled even after several decades playing together. While recurring themes of death and mortality ran through La Petite Mort in a loosely conceptual unity, there are times when Girl at the End of the World seems a little stylistically scattershot and lacking in cohesion. Still, James have always spun a lot of competing self-variations into their music and that range is a part of their lasting appeal. Between this record and its predecessor, their creativity seems to have entered a fertile new phase.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:39
- Main artists: James
- Label: Vagrant Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd. ℗ 2016 BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.
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