Living in Extraordinary Times


Living in Extraordinary Times is the 15th studio album by the British rock band James. A few months after the release of Girl at the End of the World in 2014, work began on a new album. Writing and three weeks of jam sessions followed, and the band began working with Charlie Andrew and Beni Giles. Recording took place at Livingston and Iguana studios, London, and lasted for four weeks. "Hank" was released as a single in May 2018, and was followed by a UK tour.
The album's track "Many Faces" was released as a single in July amid a series of festival performances. Living in Extraordinary Times was released on 3 August through Infectious Music and was promoted with radio sessions. Continuous touring – both headlining tours and festival appearances – saw the band play shows across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe and the US, including co-headlining tours with The Charlatans and the Psychedelic Furs.
Living in Extraordinary Times is an indie rock album with elements of electronica, and drew comparison with the music of U2, The Killers and The Courteeners. The album's music incorporates grooves, which were aided by bassist Jim Glennie, drummer David Baynton-Power, Andrew and Giles. The album peaked at number six on the UK album chart, and also charted in Belgium, Portugal and the US. It received a favourable response from music critics, some of whom noted the band's attempt to challenge listeners' expectations.

Background

James released their 14th studio album Girl at the End of the World through BMG in March 2016. By July that year, the band were working on their next album. Following a UK tour in December, James went to Sheffield to edit existing material and write new songs. Pre-production took place in July 2017 with vocalist Tim Booth, bassist Jim Glennie, multi-instrumentalist Saul Davies and keyboardist Mark Hunter. James met at Yellow Arch Studios for three weeks of jam sessions and wrote new material together with a drum machine. The group wanted to continue with the drum experimentation they had been doing on La Petite Mort and Girl at the End of the World, on which they use less organic-sounding drums.
James spent six hours per day jamming on ideas for songs across six or seven jam sessions – all of which they recorded. They intended to go back to the jams and shape them into song structures. After Booth wrote lyrics, the group planned to work with a producer who could bring another perspective to the material. Booth brought in engineer Beni Giles during the second week to help record the jams. When he was writing "Heads", Booth asked Giles to alter the drums. Giles came up with something Booth really liked and they kept bringing him into the jam sessions. The band accumulated over 100 jam recordings, and took around 10 home to continue working on. Trumpeter Andy Diagram was invited to join Booth in Los Angeles, California, where they edited some of the jams.

Production

Booth was in contact with Charlie Andrew after he produced Alt-J's debut album An Awesome Wave. Booth said its crisp sound reminded him of Radiohead's OK Computer and he decided he wanted to work with Andrew. Andrew agreed to record the group after he saw James perform live and he was introduced to Giles. Living in Extraordinary Times was recorded at Livingston Studio rooms 1 & 2 and Iguana Studios, both of which are located in London, with Andrew and Giles acting as producers. Engineers Dan Moyler and Billy Halliday handled recording with assistance from Tom Archer and Henri Davis.
Booth said Andrew and Giles reminded the band of their prior collaborations with Brian Eno, with the unpredictable nature of the sessions. Booth recorded the ending vocal part of "What's It All About" while walking around London's Wood Green district with Giles, who handled the microphone. The band eventually ran out of money and time to work on additional tracks; Booth had wished to make a double album. Recording lasted four consecutive weeks during October and November 2017 before Booth flew back to the US. He returned in December and finished the vocals, leading to a show in Manchester. Andrew and Giles mixed the recordings with assistance from Jay Pocknell and Katie Earl, and they were mastered by Dick Beetham.

Composition

Overview

The album's title Living in Extraordinary Times refers to political and social movements that are intertwined in ways people are unable to comprehend, such as Brexit, Me Too and Black Lives Matter. Booth often wrote what he felt was his best lyrics in the early hours of the morning. He would wake up at 4 am and be unable to go back to sleep because he had a lyric in his head. Writing the lyric down spurred him to write more lines without putting much thought into them. Donald Trump was initially a dominant figure on the album; Booth lived in Topanga Canyon and witnessed Trump become president. The Trump material was later paired down to a few references in some of the tracks, including "Hank" and "Many Faces".
Living in Extraordinary Times has been described as an indie rock release, incorporating elements of the music of U2, Underworld, Interpol, the Killers, the Courteeners and Keane. All of the songs on the album were credited to Booth, Glennie, Davies and Hunter, with the exception of "Coming Home ", which was credited to Booth, Glennie, Davies, Hunter and former member Larry Gott. A few years before, Glennie started playing what Booth called "sexy" grooves, which made their way into new material. Encouraged by Booth's love of grooves during a song, drummer David Baynton-Power incorporated them into the songs. This was aided by a collaboration with Andrew and Giles, both of whom were drummers and suggested a number of rhythmic ideas.
Electronica elements, which Booth said came from a passion for "slightly off kilter" rhythms, are heard throughout the album. Eno, Andrew and Giles configured synth programming while Andrew and Giles did additional drum programming. Additional programming was done by Rick Webster. Percussion was performed by Andrew, Giles, Peter Robertson, Early, Archer and Adam Betts with additional percussion from Henri Davis and congas from Andrew. Andrew and Giles played bells; the latter also contributing Moog bass, harmonium and lead guitar. Andrew, Giles, Betts and Robertson played drums. Andrew and Giles arranged the horns, which were performed by Mark Brown, Pat Hartley and Trevor Mires. Webster sang backing vocals alongside Larion Stolk and touring member Ron Yeadon. Josephine Stephenson, Kate Huggett and Sarah Latto comprised the choir.

Tracks

"Hank" recalls Depeche Mode and Booth discusses the negative aspects of the modern-day United States. It integrates the technique of the Kodō, a taiko drumming troupe, which was inspired by the tapping of Giles' fingers on a table. "Coming Home " is written from the perspective of a father who is absent from his offspring. Its title is a reference to one of the group's earlier songs "Come Home"; the music recalls the sound of their album Seven, while the lyrics retread similar family-themed tracks, such as the Hey Ma -track "Upside". Though "Come Home" is centred around Booth's separation from the mother of his older son, part 2 deals with being on tour and missing Father's Day and birthdays of his second son. The group first worked on it during the Girl at the End of the World sessions but could not finish it at the time. It opens with an arpeggiated keyboard part from Eno, which Giles said gives the track a different feeling.
"Leviathan" began as two jams, one of which had a decent chorus and average verse, and the other with a good verse section and as not as strong chorus. Andrew went on holiday and telephoned Giles, telling him to edit them together and change the key. Andrew and Giles visited several London studios in an attempt to find a specific keyboard sound, which they found at Urchin Studios. The song talks about before suddenly moving on to another part of one's life. The song opens with a keyboard line before shifting into techno music. "Heads" is about fake news; it starts with drums and a synthesizer part, after which the bass is heard and the track builds up to up-tempo percussion and electronic horns, ending in a bass breakdown. Andrew and Giles brought in percussionists to enhance the track, which results in comparison between it and "Stutter", one of the group's earliest songs, being drawn.
The folk-esque song "Many Faces" makes reference to H. P. Lovecraft and Trump, and celebrates the differences between people. It was written in response to Trump's decision to build a border wall. The track starts with an acoustic guitar and a Mariachi-style trumpet part that builds up to the lyric, "There's only one human race, many faces, everyone belongs here". Andrew and Giles added in a choir section Slow-tempo track "How Hard the Day" that revolves around single-note guitar lines and focuses on the vocal melody. Keyboards subsequently accompany the guitar riff; a xylophone can be heard during the song's ending. The introduction to "Extraordinary Times" recalls "How Soon Is Now?", and has a drum sound that is similar to that of "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses. The track, which is about living in the moment, ends abruptly, which Diagram said serves as "a shock … sort of represents you never know when the end is coming".
Booth wanted Diagram to add a "wild & uncontrolled" trumpet section at the end of "Picture of This Place", and sung placeholder words in the demo version to indicate where he wanted the trumpet to be played. Diagram liked the placeholder parts and simply played along to them. Discussing the origins of "Better Than That", Booth said he was in the middle of paddleboarding against -high waves, and after being repeatedly stuck by the waves, he was exclaiming; "Come on, you can do better than that". The band did not want to play the track to their management and record label because they felt it was too safe. Giles edited the track; he removed some of the hooks, added backwards reverb and changed the rhythm section. The song talks about moving forward in life despite difficult challenges, some of which help one's development.
"Mask" is the song most reminiscent of the group's previous album, Girl at the End of the World, centring around a keyboard part and incorporating acoustic guitar. The song was originally tried during the sessions for Girl at the End of the World but remained unfinished at the time. "What's It All About" was edited down from an hour's worth of jam sessions into seven minutes; Booth said the final version lasted that long because he wanted to work in a lot of different parts. "Moving Car" was compared to the darker-sounding parts of the group's Laid album. "Overdose" is an early iteration of "Extraordinary Times", which Diagram said is "a good example of how James songs are never fixed & always developing". "Trouble" is one of the tracks Diagram and Booth worked on in Los Angeles; it was edited together from two jams.

Release

"Better Than That" premiered on BBC Radio 6 on 3 April 2018, alongside details of the Better Than That EP, which came about because the band did not want to put all 15 tracks they recorded on to their forthcoming album. The rest of the EP was made available for streaming between 4 April and 16 May, leading up to its May release. On 16 May, the release of Living in Extraordinary Times was announced for that August. In addition, "Hank" was released as a single. Two days later, the Better Than That EP, which includes "Better Than That" and "Hank"—tracks that would later appear on Living in Extraordinary Times—was released. A lyric video was released for "Hank" on 21 May. Following this, the band went on a brief UK tour until the end of the month, with support from Lanterns on the Lake. They were accompanied by touring member Deborah Knox-Hewson, who had replaced Yeadon after he left James in late 2017. On 5 June, james appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, where they played "Better Than That", "Coming Home " and "Many Faces".
Between late June and August, James played at and headlined various festivals in the UK, Portugal and Spain. Following its BBC Radio 2 debut broadcast, a music video for "Coming Home ", which was directed by Leif Tilden, premiered through Clash website. "Many Faces" was released as a single on 25 July; the single edit brings the chorus section forward to an earlier place in the track. Living in Extraordinary Times was released on 3 August 2018 through BMG-imprint Infectious Music; the deluxe edition of the album includes an extra track called "Backwards Glances" and the demos "Moving Car", "Overdose" and "Trouble". The band did not want the album's cover artwork to represent negativity in contrast with the uplifting nature of the music, and as a result they chose and rejected several artworks for the cover. Their manager came across the work of artist Magnus Gjoen, who was chosen to produce the final cover artwork. The cover image depicts a hand grenade from which roses are growing; according to Booth this signals hope for the future.
To promote the album's release, James played some radio sessions and did an acoustic, in-store performance. Knox-Hewson left the band to work at Netflix and was replaced at her suggestion with Chloe Alpher. An acoustic version of "Many Faces" was released on 10 October. In November, the group toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, before embarking on a co-headlining UK arena tour with the Charlatans in December. In March 2019, James embarked on another UK tour; instead of having a support act, the group played an extra acoustic set before their shows. Following this tour, they toured in Portugal. In June, James played at Isle of Wight Festival and supported the Courteeners. In July and August, James went on a co-headlining US tour with the Psychedelic Furs and were supported by Dear Boy. Before and after their US tour, James played at festivals in Greece, Italy France, the UK, Spain and Portugal, running into September.

Reception

Living in Extraordinary Times reached number six on the UK album chart. It also reached number 29 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart in the US, number 38 in Portugal, and number 172 in the Flanders region of Belgium.
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Living in Extraordinary Times received generally positive reviews from music critics. The Independent writer Jack Shepherd said the band "still work at their full capacity, bringing new ideas and sounds while retaining what inherently makes James James". Express & Star Leigh Sanders called it a "wonderful" release that is complete with "thumping percussion, witty lyrics", and said although it is "perhaps a tad long", it deserved to be "heard from start to finish". In a review for Louder Than War, Martin Unsworth called it a "challenging album" that could "divide hard-core fans but will certainly stand the test of time". The Observer editor Damien Morris was impressed the group were capable of "still writing songs that swing for the furthest festival fences". Epigram editor Alexia Kirovr said the abum's deep cuts encapsulate a lot of the "eccentricity and vivacity that has always been an earmark of James' most interesting—and best— work".
PopMatters writer Ed Whitelock referred to Living in Extraordinary Times as an "extraordinary" record that saw James "firing on all cylinders". He said Glennie and Baynton-Power act as a "criminally underappreciated rhythm section … foundation that, if removed, would render all else to rubble". Aug Stone of Under the Radar said the band "continue to play with our expectations both sonically and melodically ... taking chances that pay off most of the time". According to AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, it is "a little exhausting for those who aren't true believers" but it can "prove to be fascinating for the dedicated sort who choose immersion over skimming". Financial Times writer Ludovic Hunter-Tilney said the album is a "bit overripe at times"; the music, however, is mainly "sinewy and sleek indie-rock, a vibrant statement of continuing intent".

Track listing

All songs written by Tim Booth, Jim Glennie, Saul Davis and Mark Hunter, except "Coming Home " by Booth, Glennie, Davies, Hunter and Larry Gott. All lyrics by Booth.
  1. "Hank" – 3:33
  2. "Coming Home " – 3:41
  3. "Leviathan" – 4:31
  4. "Heads" – 4:40
  5. "Many Faces" – 5:15
  6. "How Hard the Day" – 3:25
  7. "Extraordinary Times" – 4:43
  8. "Picture of This Place" – 6:02
  9. "Hope to Sleep" – 4:12
  10. "Better Than That" – 4:17
  11. "Mask" – 5:15
  12. "What's It All About" – 7:33
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
  2. "Backwards Glances" – 4:09
  3. "Moving Car" – 5:37
  4. "Overdose" – 4:23
  5. "Trouble" – 4:29

    Personnel

Personnel per booklet.
James
Additional musicians
Additional musicians
Production