DON’T YOU FIND IT’S ALL A BIT SERIOUS? – Jamie T – Don’t You Find (2014)

We were satisfied. After being a fixture on the London scene for many years Jamie Alexander Treays (Jamie T to you or I) represented a new vanguard of lyric savvy singer song writers taking the influx of vibrant guitar led music of the mid-2000’s and adding their own lippy world view.

Songs like Sheila and If you got the Money won him droves of fans and earned him headline slots and major radio play. His first full album, 2007’s Panic Prevention, is now logged in the annals of history as a truly seminal record of the mid 2000’s. This was then cemented by 2009’s Kings & Queens, with the lead track  Sticks n Stones winning Jamie further mainstream success and even more of  a loyal fan base.

That was 2009 – a good 5 years ago and Jamie has been awfully quiet. With rumblings of Record labels rejecting his first offering for album number 3, and suggestions that Jamie himself may have let the heady success of his early career get the best of him – some wondered if he would ever make his return.

But 2014’s Don’t You Find has announced his return and we at DissatisfiedSounds are here to save you some time and tell you whether or not you should care.

Much slower than his previous efforts, this track forms a ghost like melody that plods along eerily with the addition of sharp female harmonies – this is clearly not the Jamie we knew before. With minimal lyricism this methodical, tightly conceived tune is definitely a change of pace.

One that will definitely find its audience of course – with its chorus of oooo-aaaahhhs and synth heavy effects, the punters at the UK’s festivals wont be short of lines to sing along to. Thats not to say that we don’t respect Mr T for trying to evolve and become more mature (see our review for Cage the Elephant’s Melaphobia for how this can be done right) but this track seems to want to be a moody, important track – but comes across as rather straightforward. Whilst clearly not designed for those wanting to hear more of the same, this track seems to have been written for the post Alt-J, XX audience who want to hear slower darker tunes – whist having a basic chorus of cavemen sounds – a technique made famous by the Lumineers. We feel Jamie has misplaced some of his cheeky Wimbledon charm in the intervening years – part of the reason we liked him in the first place.

This is not the be all and end all however as an album is on the way and if his latest release Zombie (see below) is anything to go by there is still space on the new LP for the true-to-life lyrics and faster paced hits of years gone by on the upcoming release.

Don’t You Find – Jamie T gets 5/10

Not a bad track but earns our first;