Jamie T used to be a young rapper with quick wit and a heavy brittish accent. From this description, only the brittish accent remains. The last album by this lad was released five years ago and a lot has changed since that. On his long-awaited third LP, Jamie completely ditches rapping and goes all-out with grandiose indie rock. The results are better than I expected.
Carry on the Grudge is a record where you can easily distinguish songs from each other. They range from acoustic ballads, through indie rock live staples, to grungy epics. Jamie T seems to have grown a lot since his 2009 release, Kings & Queens. I have to say that I miss the catchiness and wit of "Sticks and Stones", but generally, this maturation has done more good than bad. A track as gorgeous as "Limits Lie" would have no place at all on his previous work.
The best tracks are easily the most mature ones. The aforementioned opener "Limits Lie" has a brilliant orchestration in its bridge, "Don't You Find" has high female "ooohs" in the chorus, "Mary Lee" has an incredibly catchy piano section and the closer "They Told Me It Rained" is possibly the darkest song Jamie has ever written. The track that stands out the most however, is "Peter". Not because it is the best, but because is completely different from everything else. What makes it so different is the heaviness, grungy guitars and lyrical weirdness. The only tracks that are on a lower level are the funky "Trouble" and the obligatory indie "Rabbit Hole". Otherwise, Carry on the Grudge is a great song after great song.
2 Bumps | Bump |
