Album Review: Trick by Jamie T

Since his breakthrough in 2007, few British artists have been as distinct or celebrated as Jamie T (the T a shortening of his surname Treays). Two years after ‘Carry on the Grudge’, his return to music following a five year absence, he returns with fourth album ‘Trick’ in advance of a huge UK tour.

Opener and first single ‘Tinfoil Boy’ takes its inspiration from Rage Against the Machine and features a sinister monologue from actress Florence Bell. Having split opinion on release, it is undeniably a bold stop out of the artist’s comfort zone, which generally seems to pay off. Treays’ fondness of grime reveals itself in second track ‘Drone Strike’ through urgent, breathless rapping over 140BPM beats before another claustrophobic chorus. Second single ‘Power Over Men’ revisits more familiar territory – observational lyrics about a femme fatale protagonist are matched with one of the record’s catchiest melodies to create a sublime piece of indie rock.

A tannoy announcement about a suicide in aisle five starts ‘Tescoland’; in spite of its ludicrous name, the song amounts to four relentlessly energetic and upbeat minutes defining Britain as a land of supermarkets when compared to the glitz and glamour of America. References to death and depression characterise the unique, if slightly unspectacular, ‘Police Tapes’, which rivals ‘Tinfoil Boy’ for heaviness, before the bleak lyrics continues on ‘Dragon Bones’ – “if I had a gun, I’d blow my brains out”, Treays intones, and the upbeat tune creates a deliberately uncomfortable juxtaposition.

Another strong character study, one of Treays’ songwriting specialities, arrives through ‘Joan of Arc’, whose titular figure is described as characterised by bitterness owing to a mix of unrequited love and suitors who have used her. The tone changes on ‘Solomon Eagle’, featuring half-rapped, half-sung sections in another darker tune which improves with repeated listens. The energy goes up a notch again with ‘Robin Hood’, in which central character Johnny wanted aspired to Robin Hood and ended up as a bank robber. Scintillating guitar work and enthusiastic vocals seal its place as a truly infectious tune.

With its slow burning instrumentation, ‘Sign of the Times’ works at two levels. It provides social commentary on bought out music venues and an unfriendly society, but also serves to explore Treays’ psyche. He has spoken with admirable honesty about his struggles with anxiety since ‘Panic Prevention’, and here channels raw feelings of nervousness and inadequacy into a heart-wrenching chorus of “No I’m not enough, I was never enough.” Despite wishing to be more “exceptional” in his lyrics, there’s no arguing with the status of this ballad as exceptional in itself.

‘Crossfire Love’ further showcases the hip-hop influences that ebb and flow throughout the album, before a classic Jamie T chorus fuses punchy lyricism with a memorable melody; the end result is the energy of ‘Panic Prevention’ and ‘Kings and Queens’ overlapping effortlessly with the maturity of ‘Carry on the Grudge’. Five and a half minutes of more balladry close the album in ‘Self Esteem’, reflecting on further unrequited love and psychological distress. Musically, it is arguably the best track here, with fuzzy distortion giving way to a beautiful orchestral segment. “Maybe I noticed you…” Bell says again and again, as the strings gradually fade into nothing and her last repetition of the phrase is all that is left.

While ‘Trick’ has its weaker moments, it matches influences, captures experiences and provides an insight into its creator in a way that very few other artists can. Jamie T has added to his discography with one of his finest long players to date, which keeps his signature sound but draws from other inspirations to great effect, meaning that listeners can never quite anticipate his next trick.

9/10