Is Jamie T really that good?
Short answer, yes. Absolutely. He’s a fucking hero. But
here’s why:
He’s probably the most relatable artist of the 2000’s for a
start. People talk about Arctic Monkeys as being the voice of the internet
generation with Alex Turners Sheffield poetry accompanied by his quick wit
which saw their rise to stardom in 2006, 1 year before Treays, with tales of
prostitutes and scraps in taxi queues but it was always kind of glamorised, and
it’s this glamorisation which sets the two artists apart. Jamie’s realism of
how tragically funny yet shit everything is when you’re young just causes every
teenager to click and relate. When you’re 16/17 you don’t want to be told how
great it is being young while you’re stuck in on a Friday night. You want to
hear how fucked up it is to be coming of age.
His debut album ‘panic prevention’ does this perfectly and
none more so than ‘calm down dearest’ a tale of not knowing what the
night ahead holds but how its more than likely going to be calamitous but
really, who cares anyway. It captures the rowdiness of teenagers perfectly as
Treays talks about missing the whole club queue before asking ‘who the fuck are
you?’ This idea of doing something by
accident but then deciding to take credit for it sums up the beautiful
arrogance of youth.
On his second album ‘Kings and Queen’s the minor troubles that
seem like the end of the world are portrayed in such an engaging way, the girl
you fancy kissing someone else at a party and still forgiving them because of
the naivety than comes with youth is something that could have happened in any
time period. ‘Sticks n stones’ is the anthem to end all anthems with its face
paced progression and self-proclamations of being a ten a day little shit; but
what appeals to me is the attitude of ‘yeah it’s all gone tits up but who cares
lets go out and be juvenile delinquents because at the end of the day that’s
all we are.’ Because being a little shit is part of growing up and everyone
needs to know that.
Looking at all the people his music has inspired from Palma
Violets Chilli Jesson saying that Jamie T was the reason he started making
music to Isaac Homlan from slaves stating that Panic Prevention was a record you
have to hear before you die.
It’s clear he has a profound effect of fans and inspiring
artists alike and for good reason; he offers an alternative to mainstream indie
artists. The way Jamie T can go from aggressively spitting out the lyrics of
pacemaker at 100 miles per hour to showing his raw musical ability present
throughout 2014’s comeback album ‘carry on the grudge’ and this really does set
him aside from the rest in my eyes. His diverse alternative shows why so many
people hold him in such high regard and making him the true artist of the
people. By Joe Daniel
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