Listening to Annie Mac on Wednesday, half pissed and on my way to prom, I eagerly awaited to hear Jamie T’s new single ‘Tinfoil Boy’. Overly-optimistic, I hoped for some sort of reconditioning of old JT or even an insane follow up from ‘Magnolia Melancholia’. However, to my extreme dismay, I, with my phone pressed up to my ear trying to drown out the sounds of prinks, heard a mash up of emotional lyrics and some kind of dubstep chorus.
This new track has been, from what I’ve seen, pretty much dismissed due to its extremely different style to that of the London lad we are so familiar with. In my opinion, it could be a lot better. Opening with, of course, some sampling (courtesy of his acting pal Florence Bell), although not the light-hearted voice overs we’re used to. Her dark, eerie whispers immediately tell us this isn’t going be about a rowdy Friday night in town with “smack Jack the cracker man”. The melancholy tune paired with the deep lyrics almost invites us into a darker part of Jamie T’s life.
It’s very ‘Carry on the Grudge’ in its melodic tune, but when the chorus drops, we are hit right in the face so hard there’s a mark left, and that similarity suddenly fades into the distance. The yelling of “BOI” over and over again is almost shocking, transporting you into the midst of a warehouse rave, drowning in yours and everyone around yous sweat. However, the chorus is swift and so can be overlooked in the grand scheme of things.
The song is a dark evolution for Jamie and the messy synths on top of a heavy drum beat prove he is willing to move in a slightly different direction (let’s just hope it’s not too different).
However, we can’t really expect Jamie’s new material to be the same as it was almost ten years ago. He is no longer chugging down cider on the northern line. His direction has changed, just like it does for all musicians. We’ve just got to let him do his thing and respect that the album is probably gonna be sick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7BBun6887I