Jamie T is an artist who truly
defies both genre and era, with fans from all walks of life. Part punk poet,
part indie pop troubadour and a little bit of everything else in between, he
created two of the most exciting and genuinely original records in British
music for a long while….then disappeared for 5 years.
Yet throughout this
hiatus the songs still seem as relevant to modern Britain as they did then,
avoiding the fate of many of his peers by becoming dated, lost in the murky
period we term the mid-noughties. Panic Prevention
especially is near-perfect from start to finish, a triumph of clever, witty and
meaningful lyrics, backed by the most inventive yet catchy melodies. His often-referenced
anxiety issues meant he waged constant personal battles, but swerved the
whirlwind of self-destruction which befell Doherty, Winehouse et al. Instead,
he disappeared quietly into the mid-distance, not quite long enough to be
forgotten, but enough to make us wonder, “so what happened?”
What happened, it seems, is that
Jamie spent his time writing his phenomenal third album Carry on the Grudge. Perhaps darker and gloomier than his first
records, with fewer off the wall samples, yet still with that blend of genres
which deems him almost in a league of his own. Tonight, he returns to Manchester for the
first time since 2010, and the crowd in The Academy is already at a riotous volume
before Jamie and his band have taken to the stage. Opening with Limits Lie, the audience sing along like
it’s a classic, not a track which has only been out a few months. This is
swiftly followed by Don't You Find, a
brooding dub-based lament and one of the stand out tracks from the new LP.
Jamie knows how to keep the boisterous crowd happy, interspersing new tracks Peter and Turn on the Light with fan classics Operation, So Lonely Was the Ballad and Ike & Tina. The energy
both on stage and in the audience is exhilarating, and it feels like everyone
in the room is here to simply revel in the music with no pretension or agenda.
Jamie T has always shied away from both these things, refusing to be drawn into
redundant interviews looking for a cheap soundbite, and this has allowed him to
maintain his integrity where others have become caricature.
Whizzing through a ‘greatest hits’
set (playing 22 songs in total), all bases are covered, from the sweet and tender Love Is Only a Heartbeat Away to sing-a-long pop songs like Rabbit Hole. The lightning pace is
maintained throughout, and for a man with such a way with words Jamie doesn’t
say much, leaving more room for the music. As the set appears to close with If You Got the Money, the emphatic crowd
brays for more, knowing there are a few classics left to be heard. Jamie’s
encore begins with an emotive solo rendition of Calm Down Dearest, followed by Sheila,
his ode to misspent youth which is shouted back at him as if it were a terrace
anthem. The incessantly catchy Zombie
comes next, and any last scrap of energy the audience has left is spent with
the final song Sticks 'N' Stones, a firm
staple of many indie dance floors.
There is a feeling in the air of
triumph, almost like relief, that Jamie T returned and just as good as ever. Carry on the Grudge has proven this is more
than a ‘comeback tour’, and his sheer talent for songwriting is undeniable. Who
knows if he will go off the radar again, but for now he is well and truly back.
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