After almost 30 years of writing and performing in some form or another, it wouldn’t be surprising if James settled into that “established act of yester-year” phase. Like The Cure or Depeche Mode, they could be recycling their old ideas in increasing less-essential albums, mopped up by the faithful, whilst live they perform greatest hit sets to casual fans, young and old.
Their reformation album Hey Ma seemed to lay the ground work for this phase. Despite its post 9/11 protesting, it was very much a glossy business-as-usual piece of work that could’ve sat between 91’s Gold Mother and 92’s Seven, without being as memorable as either.
But James have never been a band who’ve been able to stay static for long. Although the James sound is always noticeable, they’ve always shown a determination to try new things and take their music into new directions. The Night Before thankfully keeps up this tradition, if a little more modestly than before. Album opener It’s Hot includes a Peter Hook inspired bassline that’s more exciting than almost the whole of Hey Ma.
The Night Before is one of twin mini albums; the other, The Morning After, will follow towards the end of the year. It seems really to be logical extension of the final pre-break up album Pleased To Meet You, boasting the same deep sound, but made lighter by some of the gloss left over from Hey Ma.
It’s a solid collection; not one of James’ best, but far from one of their worst. It’s the bookends that make the album, aside from Hot, the bizarre Dr Hellier is the song that resonates the most. A strange sci-fi concoction which compares the war on terrorism to a Fantastic Voyage-esque quest to heal the body, probably suggesting that the solution is worse than the problem.
Maybe it’s the glossy production that lets it down. For a band with such roots in improvisation and anarchic live performances, the sheen feels disappointing. The songs with more edge are by far the most immediate sounding, without necessarily being the catchiest. Still, it’s a strong step forward; always a band of swings and slides, it feels that James still have some creative life in them after all. Confirmation will hopefully come later in the year.
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Just found out about the new James album, so I was glad to see someone writing about it! James doesn’t get a whole lotta press here in the US…