Jim Noir - Self-titled Album Review

Jim Noir
Self-titled
Album Review

If like Madonna, Jim Noir's name ever makes the dictionary then it would read:

Jim Noir: Mad, Inventive, Psychedelic, Looks outside the box, mental, strange, weird but with consistent quality tunes

The one amazing factor around Mr Noir's sound is that he is the singer, songwriter; he is the producer and the mixer. Basically this guy does the lot and he does it well, especially if you like the more inventive style music. If Jim Noir was to colour in a picture he wouldn't keep within the lines it's just not in his nature.

Jim Noir is set to release his new album titled 'Jim Noir' ah well you can't be original in everything you do I suppose. After the success of his debut album 'Tower Of London' and his fantastic EP 'All Right' then the standards set are very highly and that the Noir faithful have come to expect.

For me there is far too much elctro through the album. Maybe The Beach Boys albums were heavily listened to during the making of this album, but seems as over cooked as a premiership game hyped on Sky Sports.

In places this just seems a tad repetitive, especially when you get your ears around 'What U Gonna Do' and don't You Worry', just singing the same line over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. It's not just the lyrics either even the song titles are repetitive nothing represents this better than 'Day By Day By Day'.

Although musically this isn't that bad, with some good harmonies and sounds, although on the flip side there is still too much Brian Wilson and crew influence. So really if you like anything by The Beach Boys you will more that likely love this and download it straight onto your ipod.

'Same Place Holiday' lifts a bit of life into the album and gives a sense of what is going on in the madness that is Jim Noir. This is what we have been waiting for even if it has taken ten songs to get here!

If you put this album head to head against his debut album then there would be no contest. The first album would win hands down every time, which is a bit sad really. Hopefully he will come back and prove us all wrong, but the 'difficult second album' to me seems to of hit Noir right between the? *###*? Ironically the album is made up of thirteen tracks and that does seem to be unlucky for this guy.


Mark Moore