He might have disappeared from the front of stages and the shelves of record stores for a while, but did Jamie T ever really go away? Not for me he didn’t, which is why I don’t think this can be labelled as a comeback.
The sound he helped to forge and carve has only progressed in his absence. That restless mix of indie, punk, hip hop and British storytelling has continued to string it’s path through the mouths and guitars that came after him, but new single ‘3310’ marks the start of a new chapter as Jamie T steps into a new era.
At fear of sounding like a broken record and living the past, Jamie T arrived on the scene in 2007 with the album ‘Panic Prevention’, without an obvious genre for him to fall in. Blending indie, punk, hip hop and grime, and a vocal delivery that sits somewhere between rapping, singing and talking, his rough edges were smoothed over with big choruses.
With songs that sound like they belong in pub gardens, bedrooms and streets, Jamie T’s style is now seen as common practice, so it’s easy to forget how distinctive his sound was when it first arrived.
This is exactly what makes his return to the fore so interesting. He’s returning to a scene carried by his blueprints.
With 4 years since his last album and 2 years since last taking to the stage, ‘3310’ is unmistakably Jamie T. The title alone demonstrates his ability to pull something ordinary into the forefront and make it feel culturally significant and full of personality.
The vocal delivery is as Jamie T as you’d expect, half-spoken and half-sung just like the old times. Pair this with scrappy, scratching guitars and a fast, powerful rhythm that somehow sound unpolished but complete and finished.
If ‘3310’ is anything to go by, then his new album ‘Ghosts (100 Days of Morning)’ isn’t going to look to recreate ‘Panic Prevention’ and instead feel like Jamie T using uniqueness to evolve his sound.
Releasing on 9th October, Four years on from his last album ‘The Theory of Whatever’ and with Damon Albarn involved in the production, there’s enough intrigue to argue this isn’t going to be a nostalgia trip. Judging by ‘3310’ Jamie T has plenty left to say and prove.
The real litmus test will be when these songs leave the headphones and speakers and work their way into a live setting. With songs that feel so relatable, Jamie T has always excelled in building relationships with his fanbase in person.
He returned to the stage this week for a one off intimate show at Scala, London, and the videos have been hitting my “For You Page” with an immersive tone of FOMO. He first played the venue 20 years ago in 2006, giving the night a full circle moment. He once graced that stage with the heir of someone who was about define a new strand of British indie, and returned two decades on as a veteran of the space.
Let’s not forget, this isn’t someone who’s playing the same intimate setting 20 years down the line. In 2023 he performed his biggest ever headline show at Finsbury Park.
He has now announced a run of shows in December that includes Manchester’s Coop live. That alone is a statement for the album launch.
Perhaps this is why labelling it a comeback doesn’t sit right with me. Granted, Jamie T has had some time away, but the artists who followed and the generation he influenced are very much present. Pair that with the full circle moment of stepping on the same stage twenty years down line, armed with new music, a new single and a new chapter. Jamie T hasn’t lost it, but he is reminding us of where he started.