SOUND JUDGEMENT
The latest album releases reviewed
THE THEORY OF WHATEVER JAMIE T ★★★★✩
Jamie T doesn’t like the limelight. The wait for a new album from the Wimbledon-raised troubadour can last years – in this case six. But with the arrival of The Theory of Whatever, it’s clear something has shifted in the now 36-year-old’s psyche.
Once he channelled street urchin frustration and longing, then hit an uncertain patch in the mid-2010s, but on The Theory of Whatever, the mists have cleared and he delivers some of his finest, most uplifting and at times hilariously biting music in years.
Tracks such as the anthemic The Old Style Raiders capture a new sense of hope, while Keying Lamborghinis is the opposite and one of the darkest songs he has written.
This is his last album under a record deal he signed in his teens and, as he hits a new stride, let’s hope we don’t have to wait long for the next one.
SURRENDER MAGGIE ROGERS ★★★✩✩
Maggie Rogers is back with a second album, although chances are you’ve never heard of her. With this new release, the Maryland-born singer-songwriter is gaining more fully deserved mainstream attention .
Singles That’s Where I Am and Want Want are the standouts, offering up pounding drums and grinding distortion while Horses is a beautiful song with emotional vocals delivered over a simple drum beat.
She scores a hat-trick with her latest work – she is a powerful vocalist, lyricist and multiinstrumentalist. Surrender offers strong variety and demonstrates raw talent.
TAKE IT LIKE A MAN AMANDA SHIRES ★★★✩✩
Nashville veteran Amanda Shires delivers a strong album that deserves to build on the momentum of 2016’s My Piece of Land and follow-up To the Sunset.
The title track and second single is an early highlight, a powerful ballad lifted by dramatic strings, but mid-album standout Bad Behaviour takes the honours, from the seductive opening “oh-oh-ohs” to the teasing “Maybe I like strangers” chorus. Finishing with the jazzflecked Lonely at Night and the beautiful, wistful Everything has its Time – the latter showcasing Shires’ voice at its finest.