Tuesday 5 February 2013

ALBUM: JIM JAMES - REGIONS OF LIGHT AND SOUND OF GOD

Review by Jon Birch

Listen Up Manchester album rating: 8/10


Back in 2008, Jim James became obsessed with the early Graphic Novel, God’s Man by Lynd Ward. In what was a ground breaking format for the time, the book tells the story of an impoverished artist who accepts a gift of a magic paintbrush from a stranger clad only in black. The artist at first finds riches beyond his wildest dreams but soon finds himself losing his sanity and ultimately, his life, as the true nature of the stranger is revealed.

Taking time away from his day job with My Morning Jacket, he began composing and writing songs inspired by this tale and these would ultimately become his debut solo album. The result is a quite beautiful record with a thoroughly dreamlike quality. It’s what you imagine the afterlife must sound like; unknown, hazy and ethereal but at the same time, comforting and safe.

It impossible to pigeon hole this album and every track is different and takes on its own form. The opening song, ‘State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U)’, starts with a simple piano backing with James’s vocal, both strong and fragile at once, telling a cautionary tale of being careful what you wish for; ‘Your signing on forever. When you ink it in blood’. ‘Dear One’ is driven by a complex drum beat and fuzzy bass and ‘Exploding’ is a simple instrumental picked out on an acoustic guitar, distorting and changing as it reaches its climax. As the album plays through, it’s similar to being in a dream filled sleep; each one is slightly different but once they’re finished, you can't clearly remember individual details, you’re just left with the feeling they gave you.

If there is one criticism, it’s that there are no natural peaks here; the album glides along, in and out of consciousness, before drifting to a quiet close. At the same time though, there are no real weak moments. It’s written to be enjoyed as a whole and at just over 40 minutes long, it’s easy to let this wash over you without feeling your committing too much. Come back repeatedly though and ‘Regions Of Light And Sound Of God’ starts to reveal some stunning depths that are begging to be explored.

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