Jamie T - 'Sticks 'n' Stones' (+ Bonus)

That's one way of 'sticking it to the man'.....

With the second coming of Brit-pop (Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines etc.) firmly entrenched in popular discourse, it's not that weird to turn on the radio and hear a Yorkshire, Mancuinian or West Staines Massiv accent blaring out of your speakers. But none are as raw and uncompromising as 23 year old Jamie T's, the boy signed to Virgin Records as a teenager who sounds exactly like the kind of rough-around-the-edges youth that Mike Skinner's been going for since 'Fit But Don't You Know It'. Jamie's cool because every track he lays down seems to teeter between tight, indie-punk riffs and absolute collapse, egged on by the fact that he loves singing all over the bar and coming across like a really drunk kid with a bad language problem. Once he gets going, however, as on much of his debut album, Panic Prevention, Jamie ('T' is for Treays) is unstoppable, spewing forth diatribes about Wimbledon life (that's where he lives, apparently, it's more than just tennis), pregnant girlfriends, having one too many and getting into fights, well, pretty much every night.

You'll appreciate the nuance of Jamie (along with band The Pacemakers) in that they're one of the few sounds coming out of London right now that doesn't play like it's been glossed over and pressed in a factory. If there was a sound engineer on any of these tracks, he's more than likely shot himself by now, such is the raw power and uncompromising structure of many of T's tunes. Delivered in his romantic brogue, Jamie T's output is perfect for the Virgin label, which prides itself on not giving two shits about what the world thinks, only to have them rushing back when they realise how good their music is. Bear in mind, Virgin currently are in charge of Gorillaz, Massive Attack (well, what's left of them anyway), We Are Scientists and The Kooks, whose frontman Luke Pritchard is the only one to rival Jamie for the 'Thickness of Local Accent' trophy.

'Sticks' is a new track from Jamie that he's just released as an EP in anticipation of his sophomore release coming out later in the year. For someone who references a different kind of liquor in every line and often sings like he's punching someone, T's got his shit remarkably well together. Perhaps its a reference to his more dubious past, then, but given that he's pretty much my age I hope he wasn't boosting cars at fourteen. Then again, a life of crime worked pretty well for Dizzee Rascal, so you never know.

Jamie T - 'Sticks n Stones'


The other track I'm putting up is the opener to Panic Prevention, 'Brand New Bass Guitar', which gives you a fantastic introduction to the scurrilous charm of this young man. I should put a language warning on it, but that'd ruin all the fucking fun now, wouldn't it?

Jamie T - 'Brand New Bass Guitar'


James Treays Online