La Petite Mort

Product Information

Produced by Max Dingel (The Killers, Muse, White Lies), and written in Manchester, Lisbon, Athens and the Scottish Highlands, this new disc ranks among the finest and most diverse in their 30 year career. Walshe, John (14 July 2014). "James - La Petite Mort". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020 . Retrieved 25 May 2020. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. Whitehurst, Andrew (31 July 2014). "Remix Classic Indie-Dance Band James!". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022 . Retrieved 27 September 2022. O'Brien, Jon. "The Gathering Sound [Box Set] - James | Release Info". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020 . Retrieved 24 May 2020.

Battersby, Matilda (7 December 2012). "James frontman Tim Booth talks snakes, near death experiences and trance states". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013 . Retrieved 25 May 2020. Producer Max Dingel seems to have brought raw passion from the septet, bringing the keys and bass to the fore. Booth’s vocals still crystal clear however, and Moving On is another emotional effort, offset by its wonderfully upbeat chorus and beat. It’s powerful motive is stirring enough, but couple it with the animated video (by Ainslie Henderson) and it is guaranteed to bring tears to a glass eye. a b c d Merline, Michael (15 July 2014). "Review: James: La Petite Mort". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020 . Retrieved 24 May 2020. Chase, Ted (11 October 2014). "Tim Booth of James". QRO. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021 . Retrieved 3 August 2022. Brown, David (5 May 2014). "James Announce La Petite Mort Tour Dates And Release Moving On Video". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020 . Retrieved 29 May 2020.There are a couple of numbers that don’t sit overly well within the album. Curse Curse is an attempt to shift focus to electro trance-pop, and it doesn’t really come off. Instead, it sounds like a group of slightly elder gentlemen who have just discovered the synthesizer after returning from a week in Ibiza, secretly misled they hadn’t stayed longer. Gone Baby Gone is another attempt at a move into different territory, however it’s just a little underwhelming, though nothing a catchy chorus cant help out with.

You'll find versions with prints of the artwork, exclusive La Petite Mort T-shirts, and a limited number of Super Deluxe bundles — these include a signed & numbered holographic print, exclusive lyric book with notes from the band and unseen photographs, and a special T-shirt only available with these sets, along with your choice of CD or LP. You’ve been waiting a long time for this album, and it’s a good ‘un — so go on, treat yourselves. Curse Curse sounds like the band attempting to be something they’re not, with techno touches providing a rave feel; a TV is turned on to drown out sexual noises from next door, just as Messi shoots and scores at an appropriate moment in the Copa Del Rey– come on boys, Messi is so last year, it’s all about Bale now! A solid return from James with perhaps their best "pop" LP since Whiplash or Millionaires. Producer Max Dingel gives the band's sound a slightly commercial makeover with singles Frozen Britain, Moving On and Curse Curse arriving instantly in a flurry of addictive and fully-formed noise. There is little "fat" on the songs here with even the 7 minute opener Walk Like You utilising every second of its duration nicely. Moving On in particular is one of their finest singles to date and sits comfortably alongside the more established James hits. The second half of the album slows the tempo down a bit beginning with the darker Interrogation and the introspective Bitter Virtue. The piano led songs towards the end return the listener to more familiar James territory which is a nice way to round off proceedings. Scott, Ben P (30 May 2014). "James - 'La Petite Mort' (Cooking Vinyl/BMG Records)". God Is in the TV. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014 . Retrieved 25 May 2020. In my hotel room / Sounds from next door / Someone’s getting laid” goes the self-deprecating first line of the EDM-flavored “Curse Curse”. The protagonist craves tequila, finding himself “Crazy as a wasp / On a window in a heatwave.” This frivolity coats the album’s first four songs and was a serious red flag during my first listen. Everything was, even in death, so banal or pedestrian. Over several plays, you get used to “Moving On”‘s predictable builds, “Curse Curse’s” saccharine nature and the alleged joke of “Gone Baby Gone”. Opener “Walk Like You” was one that seemed to do a turnaround all its own, finding James doing a quite convincing impression of multi-movement pop in seven minutes and six seconds. The lyrics are Booth in an uncharacteristically punchy mood, directed toward a parent figure. “Which parent told you that you’re slow? / My absent dad, my mum’s control / Schooled me to be a worker drone.” This troubled youth shakes it off with defiance by the end, declaring “We will not walk like you / Talk like you.”Booking [Agency Representation North & South America, South East Asia, Japan, Australia And New Zealand] – Brian Cohen (3), Kirk M. Sommer*, WME a b c d e La Petite Mort (booklet). James. BMG/ Cooking Vinyl. 2014. COOKCD604. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) a b c Garratt, John (8 July 2014). "James: La Petite Mort". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019 . Retrieved 24 May 2020. Tuffrey, Laurie (31 October 2014). "WATCH: James - All I'm Saying". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020 . Retrieved 26 May 2020. Walsh, Andy. "Album Review: James: La Petite Mort". Renowned for Sound. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020 . Retrieved 24 May 2020.

a b c Monger, Timothy. "La Petite Mort - James". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019 . Retrieved 24 May 2020. a b c d Marsh, Graeme (27 May 2014). "James – La Petite Mort". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018 . Retrieved 24 May 2020. La Petite Mort’ may mean ‘The Little Death’, but this record has all the makings of a rebirth, signalling a refreshed sound from Booth and co. Although they split for six years in the early 2000’s, not many bands last as long as James have, and to hear them making music as strong and potent as this after 30 years is an absolute joy. ‘La Petite Mort’ is a dazzling addition to their discography and easily their finest collection of songs in years. Brown, David (10 February 2013). "Larry Gott – interview – James guitarist speaks to Louder Than War". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020 . Retrieved 29 May 2020.

La Petite Mort by James". iTunes. Archived from the original on 25 May 2020 . Retrieved 25 May 2020. James were once very serious about being original. In the liner notes for the Mancunian band’s 1998 compilation James: The Best of, lead singer Tim Booth said of any song they wrote together in the early days, “If it sounded like any other band we’d throw it out.” Since those early days, James has honed a style that sounds like no one else. With Booth’s soaring voice, big clean guitars, trumpet, violin and vast songs with choruses wide enough to be heard from space, how could they sound like anyone else? And to put another rhetorical question to you, how long can a band like James get away with sounding Jamesque? Brown, David (20 March 2013). "Tim Booth of James releases new live solo video". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020 . Retrieved 29 May 2020. a b "Live archive: 2013". James. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019 . Retrieved 25 May 2020. There’s been a lot of talk by the band about the themes present in the lyrics. It’s no secret that the death of singer Tim Booth’s mother and best friend have influenced his thoughts, and it’s certainly apparent throughout the album. But this is no downbeat misery-fest.

So what can we expect? Well that ever so familiar vocal of Tim Booth, that we all know and love is just as strong and distinct as it always was, but the wrapping upon which it lies is somewhat cleaner, shinier and dancier.

Used Vinyl Grades

a b Chase, Ted (5 August 2014). "James – La Petite Mort". QRO. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021 . Retrieved 3 August 2022. The release of the box set, coupled with the two mini-albums, marked the end of the group's recording contract with major label Mercury Records. Additionally, contracts with various music publishers had ended around this time; the publishers had no interest in continuing the contracts, a view that the members also shared. The group soon signed a publishing deal with BMG. [6] Between June and November 2012, Booth, bassist Jim Glennie and guitarist Larry Gott spent time in Portugal (Porto), Greece (Athens) and the UK (Manchester and Scottish Highlands) writing new material. [7] While in the Scottish Highlands, they set up a studio in a small hotel in Gairloch and recorded demos. [8] Booth said the writing this time was opened to Davies and keyboardist Mark Hunter, which he felt have the material a "more organic" sound. They accumulated 30 to 40 songs in total for their next album, in contrast to the 120 they had for their tenth studio album Hey Ma (2008). [9] Production [ edit ]