Jamie T - Trick review: at best tiring and at worst predictable

South London's Jamie Treays doesn't do things by half, which is probably why canvasmag.co.uk described him as "the bastard love child of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression".

Therein lies the both the major problem and the moderate pleasure: while the songwriter's preferences for outlining social, political and personal issues are commendable and on-point, there's a strong feeling that we have heard songs (let alone song titles) such as Drone Strike, Tescoland, Police Tapes, Joan of Arc, Robin Hood, and Solomon Eagle several times before.

The last three titles directly reference historical figures – a martyr, an outlaw and a prophet of sorts – something that Jamie T has regularly filtered throughout his previous three albums; the motif now is at best tiring and at worst predictable.

[ jamie-t.com ]