It doesn’t feel as radically fresh and inventive as his earlier work, but the tradeoff is the high level of craft and confidence that Lidell brings to the proceedings.
This effort offers up a broad view of everything he's attempted thus far, plus a few more steps out of the ordinary.
Jamie Lidell errs on the side of caution with its inherent love affair with Prince but remains playful and original in almost every other respect, which is what makes it such a cohesive and enjoyable listen.
Every song has multiple hooks, catching your brain and pulling your toes up and down to the rhythm.
An unbroken set of slickly-produced pop tracks, Jamie Lidell feels as though the Beck-assisted soul vocalist from Compass woke up in the '80s, corrupted by Stock Aitken Waterman.
Jamie Lidell is rich and inventive because the producer has the technical chops to bring a far-fetched idea into fruition.
The more individual-minded tracks on Jamie Lidell hold up with the strongest of his career—but to stay contemporary and competitive, he’s also at a turning point where he has to do more than simply go through the motions.
At its strongest, though, ‘Jamie Lidell’ triumphs in offering an exciting mixture of layered synths and artfully manipulated samples.
Jamie Lidell‘s success lies in this warped musical schizophrenia, which pays homage to a litany of influences but doesn’t shy away from its electronic roots, allowing Lidell to craft the finest and most coherent account of his vocal and musical talents to date.
The most frustrating thing about these eleven songs is that it sounds as if Lidell is shackled by the aesthetic, and it’s totally self-imposed.
As enjoyable as it all is though, it’s hard to escape the lingering feeling that Lidell is best when balancing his desire to mine the rich seam of electronic music’s past with a more innovative perspective.
It is a worthy tribute to the greats of funk and soul but lacks the heart and directness of the legends it aspires to.
Everything that makes Lidell unique is buried under a fog of spot-the-reference touchstones, a predictable pop funk pastiche that points towards the obvious forerunners but doesn't do much to expand on the form.
it may not be perfect, but I love coming back to it because I like it much more than the debut
Electronics and the breeze of the 80s serve him very well
#98 | / | Amazon |