Tim is back with album of our times
OLDER music fans have been desperate for a new Dylan or Sex Pistols to pick apart our damaged world.
But since the Arctic Monkeys broke in 2006, there’s been no culturally defining voice to make sense of the world ravaged by a pandemic, Brexit and Trump.
Step up a sprightly 61-year-old.
Tim Booth, lead singer of James, has always held a mirror up to society, opening up himself and what’s going on in anthems like Come Home, Sit Down, Laid, Hey Ma and Whiteboy.
And their 16th album, All The Colours of You, is a snapshot of the past year of lockdown and the end of Trump.
The title song is out now and Tim, who lives in the US, described it as: “A Polaroid of Covid lockdown during a civil rights revolution in America.
“The Proud Boys and other white terror organisations are an updated version of the Klan. In ‘Your white robes showing through’, I wrote the ‘coup coup coup coup’ lyric six months before the coup attempt.”
It’s an exhilarating tune that heralds yet another fantastic album from a band whose debut was in 1986 and who were at the forefront of Madchester in the 90s before becoming a much-loved stadium and festival headliner.
Recorded partly before Covid, the album was produced by Jacknife Lee, who has worked with the likes of U2, REM, The Killers and Snow Patrol, and who liaised with his Topanga Canyon neighbours James and Jim Glennie, the band’s bassist and the longestserving member of the group.
Jim, 57, said: “I’m pleased, proud and surprised by this record in equal amounts. Jacknife has pushed us and the songs somewhere new and it’s very exciting. After all these years, we are still challenging ourselves and our fans.” The album, which is out on June 4, also includes Recover, a song dealing with the death of Tim’s fatherin-law from Covid, Beautiful Beaches, which is about the Californian fires, and Miss America, which details the country’s tarnished image.
He said: “With all the s*** that went down in 2020, this was a miraculous conception and another big jump forward for us on the back of the last three albums. I hope it reflects the colours of these crazy times.”
The band are still hoping to play Glasgow SSE Hydro on November 30 with Happy Mondays.
The single All The Colours of You can be download or streamed now. The album All The Colours of You is out on June 4.
Live tickets from: https://wearejames. com/live/