Imagine the joy of finding what you thought were a new band in your early 20’s and then fast finding out you were very late to the party, and everything you’re listening to is from a band who are no more. That was me, and the band was Reuben. Now to fill you in on some context and why I’m mentioning Reuben, who you should already know about anyway. Well they were the old band of Jamie Lenman, who’s other members at the time of disbanding were, Guy Davis and Jon Pearce who have also gone on to new projects.
After a break from music Jamie returned in 2013 with a solo double album by the name of Muscle Memory, Muscle being heavy and angry, and Memory being calm and collected. In 2017 Jamie released his latest album Devovler, displaying a refinement of what was on previous work both solo and with Reuben, while being equally original.
Hardbeat teases your curiosity with a catchy opening rhythm from the guitar, soon emphasised by a slick bass. The sharp change in tone started off by the drums may feel unnatural to a new listener, but to those of us familiar with Jamie welcome it. Think of Hardbeat as a taste of how Jamie likes to do things. Fans old and new won’t be able to stop the foot tapping spawned from this.
Waterloo Teeth follows fast behind and changing the tone again. An easily accessible good quality British rock song, maybe having a stronger impact to those already in the know. Admittedly this was my pick off the album as it did seem to take elements from Muscle Memory as well as albums from Reuben. Here Jamie effortlessly displays his ability to write catchy quality songs that are sure to get lodged in your head.
With those two tracks in mind, think of them as the two ends of the spectrum of the album and whichever one tickled your fancy, there is more for you on this record I guarantee you, or you can go from the start and take in the ride as the styles change and twist. It took me a few plays of the album to warm to it in it’s entirety, but sure enough the quality Lenman hooks got in me and I was hooked, if you’ll excuse the pun. Whether it be from the calm vibe in the form of Comfort Animal or the fuzz filled Bones, you’ll come to find this album being played a lot, and yourself singing along to the big ones like Mississippi. Devovler definitely shows that Jamie Lenman is worth keeping up to speed on, a stunning song writer and musician.
See you in Cardiff in February 2018 Mr Lenman, looking forward to hearing some of these tracks live!
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