Londoner Jamie T released his sophomore album Kings & Queens in America on October 6th. One part indie rock, one part hip hop, whatever genre you use to define this 23 year old Brit, Jamie T is pure brilliance. His first album, Panic Prevention managed to peak at #4 on the UK charts (not too shabby), followed by a prestigious Mercury Music Prize nomination at the 2007 NME Awards, where Jamie T went on to be named Best Solo Act. On this side of the pond, Jamie T went on to do a small US tour in September 0f 2007, making his US television debut on Last Call with Carson Daly, performing his debut single "Sheila."
On June 29th, Jamie released "Sticks 'N' Stones," which was the first single off of Kings & Queens. The track peaked at 15 on the UK singles charts. Second UK single, "Chaka Demus," hit #23 on the charts, followed by the UK album release on September 7th, where it managed to reach the #2 spot, besting first album, Panic Prevention's #4 peak.
In talking about his new album, Jamie has no qualms about the various musical comparisons that he's received since releasing Panic Prevention. "I hate it when people pretend that they've never listened to someone that they obviously sound like," he says. There was a Bob Dylan phase, a Conor Oberst phase as well as a Ryan Adams phase and lots of influence from childhood favs like The Clash and Jam and Specials.
According to the press release, "lightning fast lyrics and musical eclecticism mirror the ceaseless streams of information that batter us daily." It goes onto say that "there are moments of resilience and others of bitterness, honest reactions to the political, social, and financial crises of our times. Wow. Deep stuff! This is one insanely personal album, and one that everyone should check out.
For a nice sample of Jamie T's musical and lyrical stylings, check out free downloads at Better Propaganda and Blender. Jamie T was in the middle of an Australian Tour, which he has since had to pull out of on Doctor's orders. Subsequently, he's also had to cancel his European Tour which was due to kick off on October 1st. Hopefully Jamie gets well soon and comes back to the states! The album is out now on Amazon, iTunes and retailers everywhere.
Photo Credits: Alex Sturrock
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