This morning I had the pleasure of waking up to a new follower on Twitter by the name of Thomas James with the opportunity to freely download (or name your price on) his album, This Time, off of his official Bandcamp page. If you download it and enjoy it, as I have, then I recommend buying the limited edition of his CD. Here in the states with shipping and handling, the cost is going to run you about $11, while in Great Britain it’s £2.99.
When I first listened to his music it was a couple of the live recordings on his YouTube channel. What I first heard was a sound somewhat similar to what John Mayer was putting out during his Try! and Continuum era with some hints of Battle Studies, but it was subtle. Once I put in the album I could better hear the influence of John Mayer on the music. The guitars ring with a soulful yet mellow jazz sound that compliment the more folk sound of Thomas James voice. Genre-wise this album is a straight-forward pop/blue-eyed soul sound with that funky jazz grooves underneath
My favorite songs on the album are “Deepest Blue”, “February” and “Close the Curtain”. The reason for this is James shows off his guitar chops. Personally, if you’re going to make music like this I feel that his guitar playing skills should be showed off more. Then again, I love the sounds of this style of guitar when a guitarist just opens up and lets their emotions flow through the instrument. There is quite a lovely duet on the fifth track of the album as well.
However, as much as I enjoy This Time, I find a lot of the beats sounding a lot like John Mayer songs. Not that that’s a bad thing but it has been done and done better. “Whatever Your Heart Desires” reminds me of “Half of My Heart” in regards to the chord progression at the beginning of the song and other places.” As for the rest of the album, nothing jumps out and grabs me as terribly new, but it’s a refreshing sound for those of us that miss the earlier sounds of John Mayer.
Lyrically the songs are romantic and nostalgic in nature but they are certainly James’s voices speaking out to our hearts. I conjure up a lot of visions of happenings in my life, especially with the women I have loved and lost. Thomas James voice as I have said has that folky blue-eyed soul sound to it that I feel like I’ve heard yet haven’t heard before.
At the end, it’s not a bad album but it’s not a great album. I do think it’s a solid debut for Thomas James and I greatly look forward to hearing what he has in store for his upcoming EP. I’d love to hear more of his ability to solo and if possible a little more range to his voice. If he ever hits up the States and he’s playing near me I’ll be buying a ticket. I see this album being a hit with the ladies and I know I’m going to keep it spinning for awhile and on my iPod. 3.5/5 stars
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