Domenica 26 Lug 2009, 12:20
John Hampson - Shiny New Album
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee277/innerearpromo/album%20covers/shinynewalbum.jpg
Tracklist:
1. On The Road
2. How Much
3. Not Hide Away
4. Miss You So Hard
5. When We Were 22
6. Fight Song
7. Stella
8. Good Time For A Mistake
9. The Last Time
10. Counting The Stars
John Hampson is an accomplished songwriter and musician. His best known songs are written for and performed by him and his friends in Nine Days. But on his own he can make some really crafty powerpop that is quite effective. "Shiny New Album" is his first full-length as a solo performer and it has some songs that are very Nine Days-ish, but some of the songs are a bit different as well. It's interesting to hear Hampson tackle the music on his own.
The album starts out with the mellow On The Road on which Hampson sounds a little bit like Chris Martin from Coldplay. The song has a relatively simple melody and the chorus it definitely the focus point in the track. It's a nice way to slowly ease into the record. Next up is How Much, a song that was released through myspace awhile back. The eventual album version of the song still has a lot of strength and would make a good radio single. It has a summery feel and a little bit of a reggae influence in the rhythm. It's written like an invitation to sing along. One of the very best tracks on "Shiny New Album".
Not Hide Away is a song that I'd expect more of his Nine Days collaborator, Brian Desveaux, than of John Hampson himself. But he definitely pulls off the catchy song that would not be a bad addition to the Nine Days repertoire either. The whistling along in the song is also a very nice touch. Can't wait to hear this live one day.
The bittersweet Miss You So Hard is a little different. The gentle, mostly acoustic guitar leads Hampson's introspective vocals to describe the scene of the song until the catchy chorus kicks in. And the metaphoric lyrics are a very good example of why John Hampson is held in such high regard by me.
We then reach the most suitable radio single of the album. When We Were 22 is a hit in the making. The sing along, uptempo powerpop song will definitely help Hampson to define himself as a solo artist. Though I wouldn't mind hearing the song pop up on some Nine Days setlists either. What a great song to completely go along with and start singing along to. Fight Song is perhaps one of the weaker songs on the album. While I kinda like the easy strumming and the echoing vocals, the song does get a little boring after awhile. Undeniably it has some very catchy parts and what Hampson does, he does pretty well, and there are some great lyrics in it, but the song can't captivate me for the whole time it's playing. I'm sorry John.
Stella's another Nine Days-ish song. One that reminds me of the "So Happily Unsatisfied" era. It's still growing on me and I already dug it the first time I heard it. Good Time For A Mistake has some great instrumentals in it. And John convinces vocally as he usually does. One of the very best songs on the CD and I wouldn't be surprised to see this one appear on the next Nine Days album. Because, wow, this would sound great if they did it all together.
From the acoustic strumming in the intro until the very end of the song The Last Time has a very mellow, laid-back feel to it. It's very much a singer/songwriter approach with a slow build up towards the end, where the song picks up on momentum and gets fuller and fuller. It's good for the diversity on the album, but I still like Hampson better full throttle.
The album ends with Counting The Stars which was also previously released through myspace. The prophetic words of love lost are written down in such a way that can only be seen as pure poetry. And it would make a pretty decent radio single too. But even if it doesn't, I'd say the album ends with its best song.
"Shiny New Album" is John Hampson's first real full-length solo debut. And like we pretty much already knew, he can easily stand on his own two feet. I must say I prefer the collaboration with Brian Desveaux and the other guys in Nine Days, because you have a collective of talent, but John Hampson's solo stuff is still on a very high level. Songs like How Much, When We Were 22, Good Time For A Mistake & Counting The Stars are proof of that. But from a brilliant songwriter like John Hampson I wouldn't expect anything less.