James are: Tim Booth (vocals), Jim Glennie (bass), Larry Gott (guitars), Saul Davies (guitar, violin), Mark Hunter (keyboards), David Baynton-Power (drums) and Andy Diagram (trumpet).
Manchester’s finest make a welcome return with ‘La Petite Mort’, the first new full length James album in six years. Produced by Max Dingel (Killers, Muse, White Lies) and written as ever, by the band, with Tim Booth lyrics, this new disc ranks among their finest in a 30 year career.
‘La Petite Mort’ was recorded in the wake of Tim Booth losing his mother and best friend in quick succession and understandably many of the songs deal with mortality, hence the album title. However, ‘La Petite Mort’, is an incredibly uplifting record.
Highlights include the mighty first single ‘Moving On’, the anthemic ‘Curse Curse’ and buzz single ‘Frozen Britain’.
Max Dingel is the latest in a long line of first class producers the band have worked with including Brian Eno, Gil Norton and Youth.
The band have been announced as headliners for ‘Summer in the City’, Castlefield Bowl, Manchester July 11th (which sold out on Friday in under an hour) and Camp Bestival, Dorset August 1st with more major festivals and a UK Arena tour to be announced shortly.
Since forming in 1982, James are, without doubt, one of Britain’s most influential indie bands, enjoying a prestigious career that spans over 30 years. Their classic hits include ‘Sit Down’, ‘She’s A Star’, ‘Laid’ and ‘Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)’ amongst their 20 top 40 UK singles. They have released 12 studio albums and have sold over 12 million albums worldwide.
BUZZ TRACK: ‘Frozen Britain’