19 Aug Jamie Lidell – Compass | Album Review

From time to time I’ve found myself wondering why Jamie Lidell is not more of a household name. With some catchy-yet-credible singles under his belt, and an impressive retro voice you would think he’d have at least garnered the type of attention bestowed on his namesake and less-vocally-talented Jazz counterpart Jamie Cullum. Looking like a science geek who harbours a kinky secret, one wouldn’t expect that kind of voice to come out of Lidell. And it’s a vocal style peculiar to English soul boys; from Jay Kay, Lewis Taylor and erstwhile Artful Dodger collaborator Robbie Craig to a pre-pop/rock Jamie Scott and more recently Mamas Gun lead singer, Andy Platts. Lidell’s voice however is possibly the most authentically soulful out of the lot, which should be riposte enough to those music journos who have rather unfairly labelled his sound as affected. On his previous two records, 2005’s Multiply and 2008’s Jim by his own admission - and as observed by critics - Lidell purposefully moved away from Electronica, his former base to focus on material that would best showcase his voice. He succeeded too; the production on both Jim and Multiply sounded convincingly vintage without being gimmicky or over-done. On his latest effort, Compass, Jamie experiments with different soundscapes