There is a song on the new James album that is unbearably sad. Recover is a track about singer Tim Booth’s father-in-law dying in the first wave of Covid-19. One verse documents his rapid deterioration: in a few lines 84 year-old Saville goes from having a sore throat to being on a ventilator. Despite the peppering of hope throughout the song, he never recovers. It’s a harrowing listen…. (subscription)
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Many musicians have shied away from talking about the Big C, for fear of what – losing timelessness? Feeling too obvious? Well, All The Colours Of You deals with COVID sharply, starkly, and unapologetically, proving that sometimes what seems obvious is necessary. The title track singes through lyrics about quarantine, the Ku Klux Klan, being caged, literally and metaphorically – but it doesn’t feel rushed or unimaginative. James are so seasoned by now that All The Colours Of You already, somehow, feels like a far off legacy of the time it was written in, unearthing the past in synthy grandeur and swelling power to tell its tales.
James have excellently blended their aptitude for writing bangers that shoot straight to iconic status with the moral need of bands to observe and reflect the world around us. It would be easy to say it feels effortless – James certainly have the prowess to nail it, and they have done, but every part of All The Colours Of You doesn’t feel effortless, it feels carefully considered and meticulously put together. James are world-class stalwarts of the indie scene, and on All The Colours Of You they prove why they have remained so since their conception as a band – they’re responsive. James consistently create top-quality music, but they keep growing in necessity and sensitivity.
8.5/10 (85%)
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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%)
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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.
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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
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.
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I find it remarkable that, in the end, we have been able to make a record during this period. Having said that, to be totally honest with you, I am most probably not best placed to analyse it in any other terms other than, ‘wow, what a miracle that we have managed to get a record out there’ (laughter). So, I am very positive about the fact that we have managed to record an album at all. I personally feel that it is a very good record. We have had a few rehearsal sessions and I feel that we have now got our heads around what we need to get around in order to present the thing live, when we can.
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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.
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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.
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“When james are at their best hardly anyone can rival their mixture of ecstasy, passion, groove, and spirit. In this discussion with frontman Tim Booth you’ll learn that isn’t an accident. ”
Click the link below for the podcast.
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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.
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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"
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