Category Archives: Article

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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