Amidst a life and career afflicted by turbulence in the name of professional and personal fallouts, breakups, and entanglements, Kris James’ eponymous debut album is a statement record from a singer-songwriter who’s fought an uphill battle to reach where he is now. He’s a magnetic artist, with an anthemic draw to his songs that build up with verve and emotion in equal measure. There’s nothing wackily experimental or audacious about this album, just a collection of excellently sculpted indie pop tunes that range from booming to ballad for all moods and days.
Starting with the easy going poppy ‘Naïve’, James’ has you hooked with choruses and a beat that sound straight out of the top 40. On ‘Get Back to Love’, he moves into more experimental territory, infusing a pulsating future beat that’s more suited for a club than a casual sing along. Dance and karaoke both doled out in equal measure. Undoubtedly, love plays front and centre through this record, as it does with many a pop piece. But James’ never restricts himself to a singular sound. On ‘Addicted to You’ he moves to a slower and more pained ballad with overwhelmingly atmospheric production that complements his vocal performance. It’s a testament to his song writing capabilities.
My personal highlight comes on track seven, ‘Dreamer’. The more pop rock of the album, it has a stadium rock energy to it that has you bellowing the chorus at the top of your lungs when it hits. Hooks aren’t hard to come by on this record, it’s a strength that James leans into with skill and passion. Penning pieces from real life to a series of eclectic pop tunes that range from electronic dominant to acoustic, like on ‘One Last Picture’, his song-writing prowess extends to his lyricism and his arrangement.
Outside of music, James also James is the founder of Amanzzo, a brand-new luxury, sustainable menswear brand that launched its debut collection of swimwear, produced using recycled and repurposed materials such as ECONYL. There’s a lot to this British song-writer that’s put to sound on this ambitious pop piece.