Jack James is a Glasgow musician who makes an intriging brand of alternative folk/lo-fi rock. In addition to Jack's voice, the primary instruments are banjo, acoustic guitar, bass, piano, harmonica, and slide guitar. His most recent album, Leaving Town, was released this month. He previously home-recorded and released Quarter-life Crisis in 2010), and Lights Off, Headphones On in 2009.
Jack's focus on the type of music he is recording sprang from an interest in the works of Dylan, Neil Young, Elliott Smith and Damien Jurado. His goal is to create simple, honest stories. I only recently became exposed to Jack's music, but one listen to Leaving Town and I was hooked. Here is the album opener, "We Best Be Off" --
And the closing track, "Driving to the Coast" --
Jack James appears to take great care in the way he uses language to tell his stories. Here is an example of his craft from the title track, "Leaving Town" --
Wait until she's asleep
Find no evidence of me leaving
Pack my things into the car
Say my goodbye, that wasn't hard
Everything fits in the backseat
Your heavy coat trapped underneath
Although you left some behind
You're lighter now, pay it no mind
Travelling light, packed a full car, it's midnight
Not far to go, welcome to your new home
Can you tell what the difference is?
No matching sets of hers and his
But you've got two of a kind
And you're lighter now, pay it no mind
You can watch me talk and learn how to walk the walk
Steal my turns of phrase, my hair, the clothes that I wear
Become another version of me, the best version I can be
Your mood is heavy and your face relaxes
You can't raise a smile when the waitress asks you
If there'll be anything else
Your order lets her down, you never meet expectations
So you buy something else
But now you've got too much and something you don't want
Your problems coming to life in a roadside shop
You can watch me talk and learn how to walk the walk
Steal my turns of phrase, my hair, the clothes that I wear
Become another version of me, the best version I can be
You can watch me walk
You can stream "Leaving Town" in its entirety here --
Website/Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Twitter ( @jackjamesmusic )
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