Their 16th studio album, but first produced by Jacknife Lee.
For a band who seemed on the verge of implosion during their Sit Down pomp, James have proved to be admirably indestructible. With singer Tim Booth residing in California, they’re bi-continental these days and with their 40th anniversary looming, they’re at a late-period peak. In Booth’s Topanga Canyon neighbour Jacknife Lee, they’ve found the man to give these big songs the big production they need, adding layers of richness, from the choir on Wherever It Takes Us to Hush’s techno pulse. Very much an Englishman abroad, Booth rails against Trump on the lockdown anthem title track and gets caught in a California firestorm on Beautiful Beaches. The centrepiece, though, is Recover, which details Booth’s father-in-law’s death from Covid-19: when, over the course of one heart-stopping verse, he charts a decline from sniffling to assisted breathing, it’s the most moving writing of his career.
4/5 (80%)
Category Archives: Review
Scottish Music Network – Review: This remarkable album is not just one for fans of the band
This remarkable album is not just one for fans of the band but it is a welcome to the world of the music of James. The album is full of emotion from happiness to sadness. It will not disappoint; it is a gem at the top of a tree.
This is an album I would recommend to be in your collection that is with all the other 15 albums. They are superb and never seem to grow old. There is always something fresh you will find within the lyrics of the songs and will come out of the blue, then revive your love for James.
Uncut – Review: James - All The Colours Of You
Inventively produced by Jacknife Lee, All The Colours Of You is a winning synthesis of James’ anthemic tendencies and their more instinctive weirdness. [Print only: Jul 2021, p.27]
7/10
The VLM – Review: All the Colours Of You is a technicoloured apex in the band’s discography
You would be forgiven for asking if after all of this time, and all this music, whether the Manchester band could still have something to say, let alone still be relevant. But James with All the Colours of You, have not only released a record that beautifully reflects the shared human trauma of the pandemic but they have also come out with a record that shines like a beacon, offering hope, light, and a confirmation that music can really help be the voice for positive change.
Previously released singles tend to be the most poignant topically and cover a wide range of themes. The title track deals with the carnage of divisive political agendas fuelled by xenophobic hate, ‘Beautiful Beaches’ deals with climate change and the fires that devastated parts of California (the crescendo of which will leave even the most stoic of listeners blurry eyed), while ‘Recover’ details Booth’s experience of losing his father-in-law to COVID-19.
If you are new to James or worried that a band of this longevity would have anything new to say, the only option is to put on your headphones and grab your tissues because All the Colours Of You is a technicoloured apex in the band’s discography.
The Fire Note – Review: James - All The Colours Of You
Maybe James imagines they’re the dance band for the apocalypse, or perhaps these are the anthems from The Last Chance Cabaret that we need to lift our spirits for the struggles to come, but either way, All The Colours Of You feels like the perfect party record for this summer as we are about to step back outside of our caves and return to the larger world outside.
Louder Than War – James: All The Colours Of You – album review
Having listened to All The Colours Of You a number of times over the last couple of weeks I can safely say that James are one of the few bands who continue to improve with age. There isn’t a weak track amongst the set, although a particular stand out for me is Magic Bus, a pumping club track with a driving beat that would’ve sounded amazing back in the Hacienda.
With 39 years experience behind them their 16th album can easily be ranked as one of their best.
Northern Exposure – Review - James 'All The Colours Of You' Album
If you had to pick one album to illustrate the peculiar blip on our calendars that was 2020, James’ latest offering is your best bet. The band began working on ‘All the Colours of You’ in early 2020 and it is finally set to release on 4th June 2021, and I can guarantee any who listen to it will agree it was worth the wait.
All the Colours of You is worlds away from, the folky guitar sounds of fan favourites Laid and Sit Down. For those looking for something more like the James of old, latest single Isabella Does not disappoint with echoes of 1994’s hit Tomorrow. This new record is an example of a band whose career spans decades striving to reinvent their sound once again, whilst still commenting on universally relatable issues. All The Colours of You really is a product of its environment. From the production methods to the lyrical content, right down to the artwork this album works perfectly as a time capsule for some of the strangest times in living memory.
Gigwise – Album Review: James - All the Colours of You "Woefully out of step"
With their latest release, All The Colours of You, James are woefully out of step. Their mixing of dance and indie fails to land, seeming muddled and confused in today’s modern musical landscape.
Album opener ‘ZERO’ is a high-point of the record. Leading the listener in with ambient and noise fuelled stammers, James mix in with gentle and dulcet piano to make something sounding unnerving. Booth’s cries of, “We’re all gonna die that’s the truth, stop measuring time by money or truth” giving the track an unflinching realism surrounding their age.
All The Colours of You fails to hit the mark. Coming from a band that once sounded so fresh and on the cutting edge, this album already sounds dated and misguided. Having said that, it would take more than this to come close to tarnishing James’ legacy as one of the country’s many iconic bands.
4/10 "Woefully out of step"
Even The Stars – Review: James - All The Colours Of You
Their sixteenth studio album All The Colours Of You asks questions of the world around them, in their line of sight the mutation of the extraordinary times of their last album into social revolution, pandemic and personal loss, unafraid to challenge whilst pushing their playful side to the fore. Weird, but accessible, it’s possibly the most accurate snapshot of the real essence of James that they’ve ever released.
Producer Jacknife Lee’s mark is all over All The Colours Of You. They met, shared the demos, and set to work with the rest of the band contributing and directing from across the Atlantic. Elements of the record come from Jacknife taking those demos and smashing them to pieces and rebuilding, creating some very unusual and initially unnatural sounding structures.
Without the often stifling intensity of the studio environment the songs on All The Colours Of You are given the space to breathe, James relinquishing control to Jacknife and allowing his ideas to infiltrate and infuse the record in a way their search for absolute perfection has sometimes prevented their albums from reflecting the energy and risk-tasking adrenaline of their live shows. Circumstance has led to compromise in approach, but not to quality.
Like when Eno loosened those chains during the recording of Laid and Wah Wah, All The Colours Of You is perhaps the most Jamesian of James albums – an instinctive unplanned reaction to whatever chaos the world has thrown at the band. If you’re here to relive your youth, you’ve come to the wrong place. Perhaps All The Colours Of Us would have been a more appropriate title.
NARC – Paul Broadhead discovers a melting pot of sounds on James’ 16th album
“We’re all gonna die,” croons Tim Booth on James’ 16th album, but he’s never one to wallow. Instead, we get a melting pot, occasionally flirting with the genius of James of old, like the energetic Isabella and fast-paced, optimistic Beautiful Beaches.
Sadly though, ideas seem half-realised, like the forgettable Hush and cringe-worthy Magic Bus. Themes of lockdown alienation run throughout, especially on the title track and whilst Tim’s earned his elder statesman status, lyrics can feel just a little like newspaper headlines, covering topics like BLM and gun control without any real insight or wisdom. Ironically, it’s Wherever It Takes Us which is the highlight; both sonically speaking and for Booth’s likeable rapping, but where it takes James is harder to envision.
3/5 (60%)
This Is Soundcheck – 'All The Colours Of You' proves that creatively they remain at their peak
‘All The Colours of You’ may not reach peak heights from the ‘Laid’ or ‘She’s A Star’ eras, but stands tall against their illustrious catalogue and proves that creatively, they remain at their peak.
The album is filled with celebratory and euphoria inspiring anthems like the album’s title track. Whilst listening to this gem of a record, you can imagine a full arena or a large festival field and people dancing and embracing in those ways we used to in pre-pandemic times. Part written and recorded just before that dreaded day in March 2020, you get the essence of freedom and escapism running through each track.
An album of delights, and proving once again that they are in the midst of a new creative wave, ‘All The Colours of You’ stands proud with their enchanting back catalogue. For a career that has spanned nearly 30 years, James prove that there is still inspiration everywhere, even in the most frustrating of times.
4.3/5 (86%)
New Sounds – Album Review: James – All The Colours Of You (Virgin)
For me the name James conjures up a plethora of images that radiate joy, whether it’s standing out on stella soundtracks like; The To-Do List, The Worlds End and a couple of American Pies, or being the living embodiment of eclectic ecstasy for over 30 years, they always seem to make the world a happier place in their own way. This is why the opening line to their latest album felt like such a knife to my heart. Hearing James say “We’re all gonna die, that’s the truth. Quit measuring time, by money and youth” is like watching Dick and Dom filling out their tax returns.
Opening track Zero, although carrying the heavy punches of realist lyrics that walk the edge of the pessimistic line, still has a beautiful feel to it that explodes into the audio equivalent of throwing open the blinds and letting the sun in.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the next couple of tracks. All The Colours Of You and Recover feel like a band blissfully unaware they are out of their comfort zone, with no sense of passion or originality that makes the opening track stand out.
Wherever It Takes Us is up next and takes a sharp turn down a new, far more interesting path. The vocal delivery in the verse doesn’t let up, sounding like if John Cooper Clarke fucked Bono, which then releases into a joyous chorus sung by a choir that is clearly going to be a highlight when played live on their upcoming tour.
This is far more than just another “It’s just a money grab, Insert Name Here fans will buy anything they put out” but if you are a James fan that will buy anything they put out I think even you will be pleasantly surprised.
3.5/5 (70%)