Jamie T: Panic Prevention (EMI)

 |   |  <1 min read

Jamie T: Ike & Tina
Jamie T: Panic Prevention (EMI)

Chaotic, slightly demented, aggressive and infused with a punk DIY spirit, this mind-bending collage of music, noise and sound clash from young London DJ/singer Jamie T won't be to everyone's taste -- which is a polite way of saying that some might want to approach this with caution.

But the fact is Panic Prevention is a boiling, boisterous, angry and often funny mix-mash from the clubs and streets where he lives, and he also manages to inject something quietly thrilling into it without resorting to self-parody.

He began his career playing bass in a punk band, did solo open-mike nights (playing bass because he couldn't figure out the six string thing), created beats in his bedroom, discovered the Beastie Boys, got into mix tapes, did some DJing in clubs, got big ups from Zane Lowe on Radio One, finished this album, supported Billy Bragg and The Good, The Bad And The Queen, and won "best solo act" at this year's NME awards.

The Observer hailed this as "one of the all-time British solo debuts" (I think they missed out the word "great" somewhere) and gave it five stars, as did Time Out.

Panic Prevention is an exciting lo-fi sonic collage where you will hear snatches of Cali-punk rock, drum'n'bass, English sentimentality, street poetry, Tony Blair sampled, trip-hop and infuences from reggae, and even some angry acoustic Anglo-folk Bragg-style on the terrific Back in the Game.

It's a lot to assimilate but the way it speeds by is utterly intoxicating.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Yellow Ostrich: Cosmos (Barsuk/Southbound)

Yellow Ostrich: Cosmos (Barsuk/Southbound)

Although taking its title from Carl Sagan's 80s television series about the universe, the cosmological and astral references are musically few on this electronica-cum-alt.rock album by the... > Read more

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Over time spent with the considerable catalogue of the Danish electronica experimenter Anders Trentemoller, you might conclude it is easier to like what he likes than what he does. By that we... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Frankfurt, Germany: Reach for the sky . . .

Frankfurt, Germany: Reach for the sky . . .

Those of us lucky enough to travel – and given the crowds at airports everywhere that seems just about everyone these days – have our list of common complaints: delays, queues,... > Read more

Stonehenge, England: Everybody must get stoned

Stonehenge, England: Everybody must get stoned

A couple of years ago when Britain's English Heritage was again getting fretful over the increasing number of tourists arriving at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, a wag wrote a pithy one-liner to... > Read more