★★★★☆

Album release date: 03/08/12

Rock legends, James, hit back against modern day political unrest with new album, Living In Extraordinary Times. This will be the Manchester group’s fifteenth studio album since their formation in the early 80’s and it certainty does not disappoint. Living In Extraordinary Times consists of twelve tracks, with the deluxe version presenting listeners with 1 bonus track and 3 demos. The album is due to be released on the 3rdof August with the tracks Hank, Coming Home (Pt 2) and Better Than That already being available for streaming on YouTube.

The opening track of the album, Hank, engulfs you in an ominous sounding drum beat which reflects the political turmoil in which America is going through, with frontman Tim Booth explicitly stating that this song is “Taking Trump head on”. It is immediately evident that Booth’s anger towards the American political system comes from deep within, with the opening lyrics a harsh yet quite comical dig at the president. Booth admits to having to cut down the amount of songs in the album which are solely directed at Trump, however, with the last lyrics of Hank being “Stand your ground”, it is clear that he won’t be backing down from this fight.

Coming Home (Pt 2) is the second track on the album and has a lot less political affiliation than Hank and is more of heart felt, apology to his daughter who is evidently deprived of the love and affection from her father as he is on tour, living “like a rolling stone” in the words of Booth. This is part 2 of the song Come Home which the band released back in 1990 on their album Gold Mother. Despite having a completely different style now, the band has the same earnest emotions.

As you get further through the album, you are presented with constant changes of pace. From the hard hitting, political backlash, filled with hate and anger, to a more melodic, harmonious song aimed at uniting the people. Track 5, Many Faces, has a rejoicing message of hope, with “many faces… everybody belongs here” clearly addressing the sadly increasing amount of racism we are once again experiencing in the 21stcentury.

Track 7 is the (almost) title track Extraordinary Times. With a intro of over a minute, building up to a crescendo of pent up rage, the lyrics “Fuck you” graciously sum up the bands views towards the current political system.

Better Than That , the title song of their EP which was released back in May gave a brief glimpse at what the album had to hold. The song has a catchy rhythm and a memorable, singalong chorus. It doesn’t come across as intense as many of the other songs on the album as it feels like more of a mainstream hit.

The album is brought to a close with What’s It All About, a seven and a half minute masterpiece predominantly lead by the fierce lyrics of Booth, intertwined with guitar riffs, and the hypnotising drum beats of David Baynton-Power. This song really does the album justice and is one of my personal favourites.

The deluxe album finishes with one bonus track, Backwards Glances and three demo tracks; Moving Car, Overdose and Trouble. All of which are undoubtedly great songs in their own right however, the standard twelve track is lessened in their absence.

It’s reassuring to hear a current band still producing music with such a hard-hitting political message, with lyrics that would not have been out of place within the punk-rock era. With anti-establishment music seeming to have fizzled out of the mainstream sector, I feel as if Living In Extraordinary Times could be a historic album for James. This album not only expresses the band’s anger and lack of belief with the current political standings, but a message of hope and a “not all hope is lost” type attitude.

James have recently announced a joint UK tour with fellow British music heavyweights, The Charlatans in December of this year. Tour dates are below. Definitely not one to be missed.

05/12/18 Glasgow SSE Hydro

07/12/18 London SSE Wembley Arena

08/12/18 Manchester Arena

09/12/18 Leeds First Direct Arena

Pre-order the album at https://james.tmstor.es

Like this: Like Loading...