The power of the album cover. It gives the audience a physical entrance into an album, often without hearing the music first. Sometimes, the album cover can be used to diverge the listener in another direction, only to then surprise them when they hear that the album cover and the music have little correlation. For me, this was the case when listening to the latest album from Nottingham-based Indie-Rock artist, Ricky Jamaraz, titled ‘you me us them’.
My initial impressions of the music from the album cover were cheerful, energetic, and a K-pop influence because of its vibrant colours and anime-style characters. Little to my knowledge, I was far from correct. Current artists love to use phrases like “genre-bending” and “fusion of genres” as a unique selling point, however, is that not just music today? In a less in-your-face approach, Jamaraz has merged influences by taking the indie pop sound of The Drums and woven it into the 90s Brit Pop style of The Stone Roses, and for the final touch, he has sprinkled the British Rock sound of the early 2000s on top. I was incredibly surprised when I finished listening to the whole album. Every song is different both musically and texturally, which reminded me of one of my favourite musical acts, The Gorillaz.
‘operation peanut butter’ has to be my favourite track from the album. “Why is this?”, might you ask. Well, the track is as far from my initial thought of the album as I could have imagined. It is pure, emotive, and truly embodies the album’s diversity and exploration into the concept of genre. Even more so, Jamaraz has beautifully laced together captivating melodies, allowing his own identity to shine through in the track and ultimately bringing the album to a close.
Recommended! Discover ‘you me us them’ on Spotify:
