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James Pants - Welcome
#1797 - 20--Chris Gibson--James Pants - Welcome --2008-07-20 00:00:00
#In short, good ideas and great songs.
James Pants - Welcome
I'll hold my hands up: I was first drawn to the record by the artist’s wonderfully silly name. But get beyond that and you'll find a really good album. At its most basic, this is from the same stylistic litter as Sonny J’s Disastro. But whereas that is very much the runt this is the breeding stock. It's funky, with fantastic beats, retro keyboard stabs, and funny vocals. There's a very noticeable hip-hop vibe here.
We kick things off with the short Theme from Paris, which has crashing cymbals and reminds me of DJ Shadow somehow. Its running time is just under two minutes, and is the perfect introduction to Dragonslayer which has one of those great, relentless rhythms that would make it a good driving song. Crystal Lite is treading water a bit, but luckily along comes Cosmic Rap, which could be straight from the earliest of 1980s dance tracks; basic hand-clap beats, vocoder vocals... You know the score. As if by magic, the memory of Rock Steady Crew is body popping through my mind to this. Things continue in party mood with We're Through, which has the happiest hook of a chorus for a break-up song.
My Tree is a little less funky, and I can't help myself here, it does remind me of Kraftwerk (in a good way). In any case we've got the supremely funky Good Things to follow. Welcome is full of retro keyboard synths, simple but effective beats, and humour.
In short, good ideas and great songs.
Words: Chris Gibson.
