Released 29th September
Virgin EMI
7/10
Let me take you back to September 2009. Oasis had just split up, Susan Boyle was a thing, and everybody I knew had a side fringe. This was also the month that Kings and Queens, Jamie T’s previous, much loved album was released. Now, he is back with the highly anticipated follow-up, Carry On the Grudge.
In the 5-ish years since Jamie pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth, the musical landscape has undergone a massive overhaul, and honestly, I was a little worried how Jamie T’s music would fit in to this new climate. However, it seems that over the last 5 years it wasn’t just the music scene that had changed.
Sure, there are times on Carry On the Grudge which almost seem like an ancient relic of those days of boys with guitars and chips on their shoulders. For example, tracks like ‘Rabbit Hole’ and Radio 1’s beloved ‘Zombie,’ still have that urgent, hip-hop, punky edge that Jamie became so well known for.
Despite this, the album as a whole has a chilled, almost melancholy sound. If I could use one word to describe it, it would be pleasant. Sure, it’s different to what I might have expected, but still thoughtful and tender and with a sinister edge. A prime example of this is first single ‘Don’t You Find’, a bold reintroduction to one of the most distinctive British musicians of the last decade.
The album itself isn’t a complete departure, but instead a boiled-down, reflective reimagining of his previous musical style. All in all, it seems like a new twist on the same old influences, rather than a completely different direction for Jamie T.
