Pitchfork reviews Jamie Lidell’s new album Jim
By Megan • Apr 30th, 2008 • Category: Music, News for Creatives (archives)Pitchfork reviews Jamie Lidell’s new album Jim:
“Jamie Lidell has built his career upon surprising people, whether via his on-stage antics, sudden stylistic shifts, or cryptic interviews. But the biggest twist to his third album, Jim, might just be its lack of left turns. Jim isn’t quite Lidell’s Sea Change, but it’s close, and not only because the singer and producer recently toured and recorded with Beck. Despite a few uptempo rockers, the album is generally subdued; its perspective is almost confessional.
On the surface a collection of love songs, Jim remains obsessed with the themes of emotional imbalance, self-doubt, and dual identity that Lidell introduced on 2005’s Multiply. Building on the blueprint drafted for that album, Jim deepens the singer’s engagement with 1960s and 70s r&b across a carefully crafted set of ballads, rave-ups, and easygoing soul, showing off not only his considerable vocal chops but also the songwriting and studio prowess of his longtime collaborators Gonzales and Mocky. (Co-producer Mocky shares songwriting credits on virtually all the album’s songs; Gonzales had a hand in two, and the Tower Recordings’ collaborator Andre Vida, responsible for Multiply’s horns, is credited on one.) Given Lidell’s past provocations, Jim’s spoonful of sugar will likely disorient some fans. But thick with hooks and Hammonds, funk squelch and background doo-wop, Jim nevertheless makes for some of the most satisfying Sunday-morning listening you’ll hear this year. That Gonzalez and Mocky also played significant roles in the creation of Feist’s The Reminder shouldn’t be surprising. (Lidell appeared on that album as well: he sings and is credited as “Energy Arranger” on “So Sorry”.) For all Lidell’s background in the trenches of the rave scene and its experimental aftermath, Jim is unabashedly pop in spirit and feel-good in sound.”
Megan is a creative producer at Wise Elephant.
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