‘The Man’s Machine’ EP is the latest release from Jamie T’s ‘Kings and Queens’ album. A mish-mash of ska beats and soulful vocals, it’s another sign of Treays’ trajectory from the screech-y teenager of his first album towards something of a national treasure.
That’s not to say the songs have lost any of their anarchic spirit – the title track, ‘The Man’s Machine’ starts off with a bit of a swagger and crashes on with the same DIY sound that made an instant success of ‘Salvador’ and ‘Back in the Game’. The chorus touches on early Britpop with its take on urban landscapes: ‘Stone, glass, concrete and gravel/ All we’ve got to keep us together’.
The unpolished production often makes it feel like listening to a live recording. The intro of ‘Jenny Can Rely On Me’ ends with the noise of a cough, but somehow it works. The song itself details the downside of suburbia with lines like ‘I feel trapped in this cul de sac/ She said “sweetheart we’ve got transport links”.’ This is Jamie T at his best – with his little vignettes of everyday life, it’s easy to see why he’s been described as a modern-day Billy Bragg.
‘Man Not A Monster’ is set to be a hit, having been chosen as Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record In The World Today and one of NME’s 10 Tracks You Have To Hear this week. It starts off well, with a raucous ska beat that brings to mind The Specials’ ‘Rat Race’ and ‘Little Bitch’. But it’s by no means Treays’ best material; the lyrics seem to be missing some of his typical gems, and the rest of the song sounds a little too much like a straight imitation of The Clash.
Thankfully the last track on the record more than makes up for it. It manages to be a gentle pop song with the feel of an anthem; the refrain ‘People always call you young/Believing in things that can’t be done’ mixes in nicely with the piano arrangement and Treays’ rapping.
