In theory, this could have been complete arse. After three years’ silence, James singer Booth has hooked up with veteran composer Badalamenti for a semi-improvised ambient pop opus, with Brian Eno and Bernard Butler coming aboard halfway through. Imagine all those egos in one studio. Passengers 2, anyone?
And yet this is a glorious triumph of pop over pomp. James were headed towards these wide-open horizons anyway, but cutting loose seems to have freed Booth to truly soar. From the moment he swoops in over the anthemic ‘I Believe’ – wherein Badalamenti’s soft, ambient waves lap mellifluously against Butler’s leisurely twanging – Tim’s feet barely touch the ground. “Why be a song when you can be a symphony?” the singer beams, encapsulating the widescreen feel of this entire album.
Bathed in the same spectral half-light Badalamenti employed for his Twin Peaks and Julee Cruise projects, Booth croons euphoric lullabies like ‘Please Fall in Love’ with woozy grandeur. In the slinky funk-out ‘Dance of the Bad Angels’ he smooches like an indie George Michael, while the majestic final track, ‘Hands in the Rain’, twinkles into infinity, melting away to a warm afterglow.
But all is not lofty detachment here. Booth’s lyrics still babble about healing, inner children, astrology and other such New Age gubbins, though thankfully they’re undercut with a lusty exuberance and a self-mocking humour. Even sex, that force of nature which has little Timmy running scared on ‘Laid’, is heartily embraced in the frazzled mantra ‘Butterfly Dreams’, with Booth cheerfully crooning: “I’d love to sleep with the whole town”
This is a mighty album, with only one or two flawed experiments – and hopefully, Booth will maintain this standard on future James albums. In the meantime, just sit back and wallow in that rare phenomenon, a truly inspired collaboration.
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