Singer-songwriter José James comes back with a new dynamic
and a colourful album, While You Were Sleeping. After his debut record No
Beginning No End, José hasn’t lost his originality and talent for mixing
genres, weaving elements of indie rock, folk, funk, blues, hip hop and RnB into
a confident and worthwhile album.
It starts with ‘Angel’ with funky electric guitar, soon
accompanied by José James’s sensual voice at a tranquil pace. With the same
mood, the third ‘While You Were Sleeping’ is very soothing, starting with
acoustic guitar, this time mixed with soft keyboards. Its major-minor movement
renders well the feeling of the uncertainty of life, alternating between
moments of control and complete happiness, and darker moments of insecurity.
The second track, ‘U R the 1’, has a very interesting
irregular drum rhythm, and the singing and
background melody don’t agree, giving the feeling of loss of one’s
marks. It illustrates the other side of the album that we encounter here and
there throughout the album. On that note, the fifth ‘Boddhisattva’ is like a
beautiful glittering darkness, where sadness and loveliness meet, José shouting
desperately “I’ve been lonely”, to which anyone could identify.
And when darkness leaves room for resentment, this produces
something like ‘Anywhere U Go’ – this particular track has a stirring feeling
of urgency; of kicking over the traces. The sixth ‘4 Noble Truths’ is also one
of the highlights of the album, a jazzy track where José adopts an intense and
powerful voice.
But on the jazz level, the last ‘Simply Beautiful’ is by far
the richest – guest Takuya Kuroda revealing his talent during his trumpet solo;
a solo having some style similitude with Cat Empire’s Harry Angus playing. This
last track definitely has a retro blues feel; you could easily picture yourself
under a blazing sun alone in the American West.
Once more, José has proved he knows how to marry traditional
and modern musical tendencies in a way to stand out from the crowd. In any
case, for the remaining skeptics, José James’s international fame and this
album’s praise by The New York Times and NPR Music make it safe to say that his
second multifaceted work is indeed a success.
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