★★★★☆
Minimalism always straddles a fine line between knowing when less is more and just being lazy.
Sure, sometimes having a song with ambient sounds and lyrics can work wonders, other times it seems like the artist was too lazy to take piano lessons or throw a stone and find a guitarist to come in and give the music some life.
Brisbane artist Jarryd James manages to walk this tightrope with ease, and the result is an album of gentle sincerity and understated beauty. Artistically focused with expert production levels, Thirty One opens with the shy but honest ‘Sell It To Me’, as what begins as a reserved whisper of musical talent builds in bravery across the album. James opens his heart but never once feels like his emotions are getting the better of him. Another standout is ‘Undone’ – cold and broken from the offset, the track builds in strength till James’ voice is pounding against the walls.
The R&B style of the album will inevitably be compared with that of Chet Faker, but where Faker’s signature rests upon his personality, James’ lies within his quiet humbleness.
Thirty One is what minimalist music should be: soft, beautiful and a welcome sound in anyone’s ears.
Jarryd James’Thirty Oneis out through Universal.
