Time has a tendency to get away from all of us. Five years have dropped through the hourglass since Jamie T released ‘Kings & Queens’ and subsequently sought out the edges of the map as his 20s ticked along, giving ‘Carry On The Grudge’ added weight to grapple with.
Treays isn’t the precocious kid he was when ‘Panic Prevention’ landed almost a decade ago and on album three he spends his time navigating a world that doesn’t work as it once did. There are lost moments, lonely spaces and gripes, his personal experience peppering an atmosphere that will be all too real for a generation staring down the barrel of 30.
The mood is often sombre, at times wilfully maudlin, but Treays has good reason to take things in that direction. The scenes he conjures are grey and desperate, the talk of heating bills, good looking corpses and sad post-teens depressingly familiar.
His songwriting is more reflective and straightforward, verse-chorus-verse structures ensuring that his observations aren’t swallowed up by their presentation. When he does cast off the shackles and up the tempo - noticeably when Zombie ambles in - the effect is generally one of enjoyable levity.
It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, mind you. The album hardly bursts from the traps with Limits Lie and Don’t You Find, even if the former introduces a hurricane motif that pops up to better effect on The Prophet, which is both a lyrical and melodic highlight as ‘Coca Cola communists’ weave through an endearing tale of sparks lighting the gloom.
Turn On The Light and Mary Lee also display some pop nous, while They Told Me It Rained is an elegant closer, possessing power beyond Limits Lie’s grasp: “Between the birth cry and a death wail, there’s just houses.”
Rabbit Hole, though, has a curious, garage band U2 air to its intro that doesn’t work all that well, selling short a verse that will satisfy fans of Treays’ early, gobby style. Trouble, too, should be more fun than it actually is, bending some rugged soul into an awkward shape.
There aren’t too many survivors from the class that Treays came up with - for good reason in most cases - but here he displays the melodic smarts and analytical eye to suggest that his wilderness years will lead to a mature, confident next step.
Jamie T Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 30 2014 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Fri October 31 2014 - SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall Southampton
Sat November 01 2014 - NORWICH UEA
Mon November 03 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Tue November 04 2014 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Fri November 07 2014 - MANCHESTER Academy
Sat November 08 2014 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Mon November 10 2014 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Tue November 11 2014 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Thu November 13 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Fri November 14 2014 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
Sat November 15 2014 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
Mon November 17 2014 - MANCHESTER Academy
Tue November 18 2014 - LIVERPOOL Liverpool Guild Of Students
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