专辑简介

"...James stood in front of the obligatory quasi-red curtain with his acoustic guitar and played through half an hour of soulful indie-folk music for myself and eleven other people haphazardly scattered around the tiny theatre to enjoy with bottles of reasonably priced James Boags Draught. His upbeat persona and friendly between-song banter provides an interesting counterpoint to the often jagged and thoughtfully unhinged chord progressions which almost never allow you to lapse into a feeling of familiarity, but rather propel you forward with him in adventurous expectancy. This constant movement in his music is a hallmark of the artists he aligns himself with and connects to the most, and I count Jeff Buckley, Justin Vernon, Thom Yorke, Joni Mitchell and Kristian Matsson as tangible influences and presences throughout this set. He was able to capture the audience’s attention instantly and keep them there as he alternated between a carefully picked selection of covers and originals, the latter of which reverberated back off the bricks with just a little more intent and conviction. It’s worth noting that at times the paint fumes inside the venue combined with his falsetto to make it quite an ethereal experience, so much so that I’ve considered suggesting to him that he make it an ongoing feature of his live shows. Regardless of this, and of any other ill-advised future OH&S situations I may help to create, he sure can play. And I sure did watch. And he sure could play."

M.P. Cooper