Living In Extraordinary Times

James today released the latest in the series of acoustic versions of tracks taken from their top ten album Living In Extraordinary Times. Backwards Glances featured on the deluxe version of the album only, but has been rerecorded in even more stripped down format for this release.

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An obvious single from the album, were it not for the expletive “fucking love, fucking and love, before they drop the bomb, make sure you get enough” the song quickly became a live favourite and was performed on acoustic sessions with the “fucking” replaced by “tainted” as a means of ensuring it could be played.

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To celebrate International Peace Day, James have released a video to their new single Many Faces, recorded during their Better Than That tour in May at Halifax’s Victoria Theatre. The song features on their fifteenth studio album Living In Extraordinary Times that hit the top ten in August and was at the time of the performance unreleased and only being played live for the fourth time, which makes the audience reaction to it even more special.

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Booth sings with confidence and vigor, the band providing both slippery grooves and explosive crescendos as second nature. Of particular note is Glennie and Baynton-Power’s continued strength as a sonic unit. They are a criminally underappreciated rhythm section, having anchored all of the classic James releases and theirs is an intuitive and unobtrusive foundation that, if removed, would render all else to rubble. James in 2018 is alive and well and coming for your children.

8/10

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The latest release from British pop band James, Living in Extraordinary Times, takes the band’s familiar up-tempo, romantic spirit and mixes in a fair amount of grit and anxiety courtesy of life in 2018. The album’s songs are infused with anger, frustration, disillusionment, and sadness, but also have their share of hope, romance and idealism injected to keep the whole affair from dragging you down. Ultimately, this is an energetic, impassioned output from a band that does not nearly sound as “old” as you might expect them to on their 16th album release.

8/10

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James makes a protest album that outdoes their peers in the socio-commentary department and shows us how engaging non-guitar centric rock music should sound. Living In Extraordinary Times is one of those career defining albums that rarely come along these days, especially for a rock band given to this kind of statement. The album dealing with the big subjects, ones we often don’t want, or sometimes can no longer confront with the vigor we need to. James stares them down with a confidence and straightforwardness that belies that which is required of any rock band, but is most welcome, and appreciated.

99%

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Fifteen albums down, James boast an extensive career and back catalogue, yet are still releasing fresh material that’s just as good (if not better) than their previous releases. We’re truly living in extraordinary times and with the release of their ‘Better Than That’ EP and ‘Living In Extraordinary Times’ this year, it’s certainly a wonderful time to be a James fan!

88%

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Living in Extraordinary Times, their fifteenth release, is the best work they’ve released since Laid, and – as much as it pains me to do so – I really have to thank Donald J. Trump for turning the band into indie rock protest singers.

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When I was growing up, James were cool. James were so cool. Their lyrics eulogised the female orgasm, while necessitating a break from “the beat of the concrete” and the burning of the capitalist detritus of modern life….despite the death of the indie guitar music they pioneered and the NME that propelled it, James is still producing music.

3/5

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For the most part there always seems to be a lot going on. But you’ve got to admire James for continuing to be confident in its approach over three decades on. This is a band at full steam, defying the reunion narrative of bands just cashing in.

4/5

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More than 30 years after their first release, the Mancunian Brit-pop favourites have continuously evolved to remain as relevant as ever.

8/10

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But having formed back in 1982, and featuring members well into their 50s, how long can they keep up their reputation as British treasures? They can’t do it again, can they? Turns out they can; Living In Extraordinary Times is even better than the previous two records, and one of this treasured group’s finest albums.

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Living in Extraordinary Times is an extraordinary record from an extraordinary band. Who after 36 years together, still manage to making relevant, exciting records. Unbelievably, this latest album may be their best. So far …

4/5

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This is a band that understands dynamics, and how make a song engaging, so they are already better than many of the other pretenders out there. Oftentimes, anger spills out of the pop on this album, but it doesn’t feel out of place at all.

4/5

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And there’s the dilemma.  Do they rely on old tricks, or try to reinvent the wheel? There’s a little too much of the latter for this album to truly work.

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The thought occurs that indie-pop stalwarts James aren’t dissimilar to a shark. Such is the Manchester octet’s devotion to exploring fresh textures, with an insatiable forward momentum, that if they stop moving it’s likely they’ll immediately shuffle off to the great gig in the sky. Fortunately, if the band’s most recent output – and especially this effort – is anything to by, they won’t be playing chess with the Grim Reaper any time soon.

4/5

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The cult band JAMES, formed in 1982, releases their 18th album this summer… and probably one of the best album of the year! As many pointed out … how can a band sound so fresh, re-invent himself [sic] at each album after more than 30 years? This band is a damn mystery. It sounds of course like JAMES, but the production and the sounding around is massive as rarely before in the bands discography.

10/10

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After 35 years in the music industry, it’s remarkable that this record contains such varied content and experimental sounds. It’s an album that will seep into the very core of your soul, one way or another.

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Maybe it is these extraordinary times that we are existing in that have energised the band, but it feels like a record that could easily slot in amongst their finest. There are enough bands and artists out there who only rehash their heritage, but James continue to stand nearly alone as a group who embrace the past but keep moving forwards.

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The album is a mix of the band’s sublime ‘90s alt rock sound with adventurous paths towards a more electronic sound, making for a satisfyingly original album that challenges any preconceived notions that the band is supposed to be little more than a nostalgia act for Gen X.

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Full of swirling, occasionally transcendent arrangements, ‘Living In Extraordinary Times’ proves that, even on their 15th album, James are still a viable creative force.

7/10

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‘Living in Extraordinary Times’ is testimony that a band are not outdated due to their longevity; James move with the current, creating, as we can see here, music that captures the dichotomy of the past and something unheard of, something entirely unfamiliar.

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Extraordinary Times is peak Big James, opening with elephantine drums like distant gunfire, warring with squalling guitars. Then Booth bursts in, sweaty and slightly terrifying. Remarkably, this 15th album might be their best.

4/5

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But what is most thrilling about Living in Extraordinary Times is that … it captures plenty of the eccentricity and vivacity that has always been an earmark of James’ most interesting – and best – work. It’s what continues to make them, as Booth once sang on ‘Boom Boom’, ‘too unique to be cloned’ ,and makes 2018 an extraordinary time for James.

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James have survived the vicissitudes of time, despite the singer Tim Booth coming across like a drawstring trousers-wearing soya-milk enthusiast forever threatening to lecture you on the benefits of tantric sex.

3/5

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Coming home? James have never been away.

3/5

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It can get a bit overripe at times, like the big drums and big guitar strums that accompany Booth’s big thoughts in “Extraordinary Times”. But mostly the music is sinewy and sleek indie-rock, a vibrant statement of continuing intent.

3/5

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There is something undeniably impressive about James’ durability. Formed in Manchester 36 years ago, they toured with The Smiths, signed to Factory, kept pace with Madchester and Britpop and still sound more with it than bands half their age. If Coldplay released this, it would be no disgrace.

3/5

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Being one of the most idiosyncratic bands in modern rock history, this means Living in Extraordinary Times is plenty quirky, even if James address the Trumpian turmoil in a direct fashion that speaks both to their inherent grandiosity and Tim Booth’s allergy to metaphors. Booth raves about “fake news” on “Heads,” one of the many explicit allusions to meme double-speak and other modern plagues scattered throughout the album, but even if his words are foregrounded, they’re overwhelmed by the sheets of sounds and surplus of ideas teeming throughout the album.

3.5/5

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James is a band that makes me smile. Over the years they have caught my imagination, surprised me with their catchy riffs, and not been scared to approach themes that many bands, then and now, shy away from. This album, unlike their last two offerings, Girl At The End Of The World, and La Petite Mort, has a sense of urgency, verging on anger, at world events, matters of the heart, and time lost with family.

4/4

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This is, in short, a wonderful record – full of thumping percussion, witty lyrics and a pinch of this and drop of that. It’s a real amalgamation of musical styles. Whether intentionally or not, we have hints of U2, The Killers, Interpol, Keane, The Courteeners and even Underworld strewn throughout.

8/10

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The band have always been ones to experiment but they should be applauded for going against the entropy of repeating successful formulas so enticing in any ongoing endeavor. Especially at this late stage of the game with James’ recent releases continuing to push the envelope further and further. In every track on Living In Extraordinary Times they really go for it, taking chances that pay off most of the time.

7/10

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James delivers unadulterated dialog as always, embedding urgent matters into challenging melodic expression. It also strips its sound to bare essentials in vulnerable moments, creating an extraordinary sonic dynamic.

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Living in Extraordinary Times marks a band still working at their full capacity, bringing new ideas and sounds while retaining what inherently makes James James – big choruses, danceable tracks, and timely lyrics. While some tracks are on the long side, how can you blame them getting carried away?

4/5

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While most other bands from that unforgettable Madchester music era are now looking back wistfully on past achievements, James continue to make vibrant, vital new music.

5/5

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What makes “Extraordinary Times” so, well, extraordinary, though are the shifting rhythms and the electronic highs the band constructs with producer Charlie Andrew. They make James sound as potent as a band just coming out of its garage.

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More than 30 years after their first release, the Mancunian Brit-pop favourites have continuously evolved to remain as relevant as ever.

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Living In Extraordinary Times feel like James at their most relaxed with each other for a long time, allowing the producers Charlie and Beni to help shape and influence the songs in the way they did with Brian Eno. Unafraid to experiment and refusing to be silenced on things that matter to them, the record reflects their restless spirit more so than any they’ve created since Laid. There’s moments that will appeal to the more casual fan (and tellingly these have been chosen as the singles – Better That That, Coming Home Part 2 and Many Faces) which prove that they still have it in them to create songs of mass connection, but as always it’s where they step out of their comfort zone and try something different that they’re at their most vital. Songs like Leviathan, Extraordinary Times and Hank push the envelope and challenge the listener to immerse themselves in the way the band do themselves and explain why thirty six years in James are still surprising and delighting people.

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Throughout the record there’s an inherent intensity to every pounding drum and soaring guitar, and no song has this with quite as much shock-factor as “Hank.” While it really slow-burns its changes, there’s a brilliance to all the arrangements behind the lead parts that make it mesmerizing.

7.5/10

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The title may make reference to the utter shitshow created by the election of a spray-tanned buffoon to the office of President of the United States, but James’ interfacing with modernity goes beyond overtly political lyricism. Whereas previous James albums had a foot in the past and a reliance on the tried-and-true sounds of pop and psychedelia, Extraordinary Times updates their sound with influences from today’s festival rock circuit.

2.5/5

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James have long proven their resilience, asserting their sense of style and displaying their willingness to reinvent themselves whenever the times call for it. However, no matter how many musical revolutions they have weathered in the past decades, the music of James has long achieved its distinctive character. Living in Extraordinary Times is yet another living proof of that they are attuned with the current state of the world issues and open to new sounds associated with Alternative music but remains grounded in James’s good ol’ trademark musicality.

4/5

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We are indeed living in the most unfortunate of extraordinary times and it shows in James’ most intense album of recent years.

3.5/5

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People have been declaring the death of the album now for more than 20 years and yet it stubbornly remains, maybe because of the older buying demographic who’ve fuelled vinyl’s renaissance, but partly because experiences like that served up on We Live In Extraordinary Times are what the long playing format was made for. Veterans cleverly using its breadth and contours to send listeners on an old fashioned journey, Tim Booth and co. have made the case for a type of listening this century has all but condemned to nothingness.

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The album a fusion of social commentary and personal reflection, covering everything from the current political climate in America in the frustration-charged ‘Hank’ or the powerful ‘Heads’ will make you sit up and listen. Not to be ignored on any level Living In Extraordinary Times takes you on an audible journey across twelve emotive and passionate tracks that hold nothing back.

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As one of the UK’s most expressive and creative bands, it should come as no surprise yet another writer sings their praises, just a little staggered at James versatility, energy and quality in 2018, another chapter, hope there is so much more to enjoy in years to come. Another statement, as if it was needed.

8.4/10

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Many Faces is, if such a thing exists, classic James. Scrap that. Classic James doesn’t exist. They are a band who have constantly sought out new sounds, new ideas and new ways of being…James.

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If James were a man, they would be married, mortgaged up and due a mid-life crisis any time now. Aged 36, they’ve been around the block and back again. Through it all, they have retained an underdog status, loitering on the fringes of passing fads and scenes. If James have proved too awkward for canonisation, they have at least avoided being date-stamped. Increasingly, it seems like a smart trade-off.

4/5

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, James are sitting next to you once again with their new studio album, Living In Extraordinary Times. And there is seemingly no let-up in their incredible music making.

5/5

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We could argue that with the anger and frustration that’s being vented, it’s as though as they get older, James is channelling the spirit of punk, subverting expectations and forever doing everything on their own terms. The prominence of the percussion elevates this from the both what the band has done in the past and what most other bands are doing now, and Glennie’s bass is certainly getting stronger and infectious, adding even more to the grand sound and the impressive production of Charlie Andrews (Wolf Alice) and Beni Giles. Living in Extraordinary Times is a challenging album that may divide hard-core fans but will certainly stand the test of time.

8/10

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James have revealed the video for Coming Home Pt 2, the latest single to be taken from their forthcoming 15th studio album Living In Extraordinary Times, due for release on August 3rd. The video was filmed “on zero budget” in California by Tim’s long-time friend, director Leif Tilden.

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Hank is the final track to be revealed from James’ upcoming Better Than That EP, to be released on May 18 to coincide with a run of seven intimate shows to preview their fifteenth album due in July and two festival appearances. It’s a scathing attack on Donald Trump and US society under his presidency and also represents a sonic departure for the band.

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Our review of the EP describes the track “A heartfelt assessment of someone impacted by “suicidal, cancer, loss of child, betrayal, deceit”, it’s a song full of empathy, both in the lyrics and Tim’s voice, that succeeds through the emotional warmth of the words and the soothing tone of the music that perfectly complements it. It resists the urge to take off and go off in many directions like Better Than That or Hank, but it doesn’t need to.”

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The Better Than That EP whets the appetite for a record that will be mostly full of songs that haven’t been heard by the fan base, as most of the songs previewed last summer have fallen by the wayside. It suggests that James are still searching for new ways to challenge themselves and us, their audience, by experimenting, refusing to let songs simply stagnate or follow a traditional structure. They’re still angry at the world, unafraid to comment and unprepared to compromise, yet can still also pull off those yearning beautiful songs they’ve mastered over the years.

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James today revealed Busted, the second track to be taken from their Better Than That EP out on May 18th. Initially previewed in their summer shows in 2017, including Castlefield Bowl in Manchester, the song didn’t make the cut for their as-yet-untitled album due later in the year, but deemed too good to be lost.

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Exclusively aired on Steve Lamacq’s 6 Music show this afternoon, the lead track lays out the challenge “You can do better than that,” he sings. “Hit me again and show me where I’m cracked” The production has a very modern sheen to it, as these are the first products revealed from their sessions with Wolf Alice and Alt J producer Charlie Andrew. Better Than That includes Tim’s trademark falsetto in the verses with a soaring chorus complete with uplifting backing vocals in the tradition of many of their best-loved tracks.

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