•
Rating: Jim who?!?
If the name doesn't ring a bell, skip to track number five, maybe a light bulb will go off: the song "Eany Meany" was used in a commercial (I think it was Adidas) where kids and seasoned champions played soccer in a suburban field. I don't think this fact helped our guy break through, but nevertheless...
Irresistible, a bit psychedelic, a bit of a tribute to '60s easy listening, a bit magical. Totally pop. That's Jim Noir's music in a nutshell, a twenty-five-year-old Englishman from Manchester, who with this debut plays and sings all by himself, skillfully blending temporally well-placed sounds (essentially the '60s in England) with modernist electronic fragments into a mix that is candy to the ears. There isn't a jarring sound on the whole record: it's all perfect, a bit circular, but perfect. And in perfect easy listening style, the lyrics are simple, the choruses catchy and relentless (see the opening "My Patch", irresistible), all tinged with a sly irony that makes you feel good. Is that all? Certainly not. I admit the album has some dips in tension ("How To Be So Real", "Turn Your Frown Into A Smile", "Tower Of Love" which starts and you see a depressed Mastroianni walking down the street in "Divorzio all'italiana"), which are more venial sins than anything else, and I don't know how it will hold up over time moving in already heavily inflated sound territories, but the work presents some gems not to be missed.
Take for example "I Me You I'm Your", with its beat drums, Beatles-like vocal harmonies, and that utterly charming lyric: "I'm confused, I've got words I'd like to use/But they've all been said before/So I'm gonna use them all/I, me, you, I'm your". Very beautiful "Key Of C", which with organ, synthesizers, and electronic drums in "variable time" is a dream everyone would want to dance to on the dancefloor. Then there are many ballads that pay homage to the Beatles and the Beach Boys (see for example "Turbulent Weather", the already mentioned "Turn Your Frown Into A Smile") featuring vocal harmonies, counterpoints, and choirs. Ultimately, a record that if you don't recognize the sound influences, you'll appreciate the innovative charge and stylistic mark, while if everything seems already heard, you cannot deny that Jim Noir tried without absolutely failing.
Recommended if you like Badly Drawn Boy.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 My Patch (04:05)
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
If you ever step on my patch
I'll bring you down
I'll bring you down
05 Eanie Meany (02:44)
If you don't give my football back, I'm gonna get my dad on you
I only kicked it over your fence and broke a silly gnome or two
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany run away
If you don't give my football back, I'm gonna get my dad on you
I only kicked it over your fence and broke a silly gnome or two
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany run away
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie, run away
Steal my football, run away
I'll get it back some day
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie, run away
Steal my football, run away
I'll get it back some day
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie, run away
Steal my football, run away
I'll get it back some day
Eanie meany, run away
Eanie, run away
Steal my football, run away
I'll get it back some day
07 Key of C (03:25)
Oh little C
What you doing to me?
When will we fall apart?
Oh little C
I just want you to leave
You make me so predictable
[Chorus:]
I want to be in the Key of C
It's easier to play it
I want to be in the Key of C
Whichever way I lay it
Right next to B
Looking up at me
I thought that A was the start
Right next to B
What you doing to me?
You're messing with my art
[Chorus]
I want to be in the Key of C
It's easier to play it
I want to be in the Key of C
Whichever way I lay it
I want to be in the Key of C...
[Chorus x2]
I want to be in the Key of C
It's easier to play it
I want to be in the Key of C
Whichever way I lay it
I want to be in the Key of C...
08 Turbulent Weather (03:07)
When we get together
I always hope there'll be nice weather
Between us there's nothing worse
Than when you turn into a thunderstorm with me
How do I help you?
And how do you help me?
We'll buy an umbrella
And we might be safe from the turbulent weather
How do I help you?
And how do you help me?
We'll buy an umbrella
And we might be safe from the turbulent weather
When we get together
I always hope there'll be nice weather
Between us there's nothing worse
Than when you turn into a thunderstorm with me
How do I help you?
And how do you help me?
We'll buy an umbrella
And we might be safe from the turbulent weather
La la la...
Loading comments slowly
