ALBUM REVIEW: Early James Gets Straight to the Point on ‘Strange Time To Be Alive’
Maeri Ferguson
Posted On August 18, 2022
No one can do what Early James does. That wheezy, androgynous vocal shimmy only he can produce is on fine display on his sophomore release, Strange Time To Be Alive. James delivers each phrase with a mischievous glint in his eye, as though he’s letting us in on a secret, fitting given that he’s viewing the world with plenty of healthy skepticism in these songs.
Early James (photo by Jim Herrington)
With Dan Auerbach at the producing helm, James taps into Easy Eye Sound’s signature greasy soul and his own brand of warm, elastic blues. Strange Time To Be Alive is, as its title suggests, an exploration and distillation of our surreal reality, and James is just the storyteller to convey it.
Auerbach’s production allows the spontaneity of James’ vocal runs to thrive and run wild, whether on slinky numbers like “If Heaven Is a Hotel” and “Racing to a Red Light,” on the roaring thrasher “Harder to Blame,” or on the more introspective moments like the breezy, melodic “Wasted and Wanting.” Nothing is off limits sonically, be it a soft piano opener (“Pigsty”), a bare-bones guitar thumper (“Dance in the Fire”), or a silky, menacing lounge groove (“Straightjacket for Two”). James can do it all and make it seem easy. Sierra Ferrell proves a formidable duet partner as she goes toe to toe with James on the old-timey western “Real Low Down Lonesome,” a sultry, atmospheric drip.
James’ songs plumb the depths of insecurity and self-doubt, isolation, and disillusionment, stripping away any dishonest flourishment in favor of something rawer. He doesn’t concern himself with phoniness in his performance style or his songwriting, even when he’s telling us what we don’t want to hear. Like a strong, sharp tonic for the symptoms of our time, the unflinching Strange Time To Be Alive is James at his beautifully weird and singular best.
Early James’ Strange Time To Be Alive is out Aug. 19 on Easy Eye Sound.
