Modern pop angst at its best

Gavin James performing at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin.

By Colleen Taylor

Dublin singer-songwriter Gavin James tends to market himself as an opening act for superstars like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Sam Smith, Kodaline, and so on. But I’d think it’s more fitting to treat the musician as the rising solo act he is. Winner of the Choice Music Prize in 2016, and original writer of his hit album, “Bitter Pill,” James has been named a Spotify superstar in his own right. Most recently, he has been announced as a headliner for the Galway Arts Festival in July (he’ll turn 26 earlier than month) and he has released a new single, “I Don’t Know Why.”

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Gavin James grew up with music in his Dublin household. He names influences such as Cat Stevens, Sam Cooke, and Bob Dylan, in the development of his songwriting career. At just age 14 he was composing and by 22 had earned himself the Meteor Choice Award for Song of the Year. The real apotheosis, however, was the 2015 release of his first studio album, “Bitter Pill,” which lead, the following year, to the Spotify Spotlight Artist Award.

“Bitter Pill” is modern pop angst at its best. The title track is soulful and rhythmic, but dark. It digs into the gritty emotions of regret and jealousy. James has a beautiful falsetto that takes center stage in each of the tracks on his album. My personal favorite is “For You”—a song with slow, lulling beats offset by James’s intense vocals that range from high to low notes seamlessly in a single lyric. My one critique of the album is that many of the songs tend to sound quite similar. That said, cohesion is often a welcome trait in a studio album. The happy exception to this uniformity is “Remember Me,” an acoustic tune with jubilance. In the middle of the track, the beat suddenly explodes out into a country-esque energy that finally links James with the musical history of his Irish roots. Again, his falsetto takes the track to new levels.

Gavin James.

For me, James’s live album solves the puzzle of his stardom. His is music that was meant to be played and heard live. The audience energy that one has to imagine in between the choruses on his studio album finally completes the picture on “Live at Whelan’s,” the album the native Dubliner recorded in his favorite hometown venue in 2015. James’s is the kind of music that needs and thrives off audience response. This is why he has been such a success in his international tours—filling venues like the 3 Arena, in Canada, Norway, England, and soon, New York’s Highline.

It seems to me that Gavin James is only getting better. He recently released a video recording of a remix of one of his own singles, “I Don’t Know Why,” recorded live at the 3Arena. Amidst an endless shower of confetti and a mesmerized crowd making a sky of lights with their smartphones, I began to see why Spotify had spotlighted this Dubliner. His new version of the song tones down the inauthentic sounds and tweaks made in a record studio and foregrounds Gavin James’s unadulterated singing instead. The new version lets James’s voice match and mimic the gorgeous acoustic instruments, guitar and piano. One commentator on the video described it perfectly: James’s voice is “liquid velvet.” The fact that this young man can command such a massive stage all on his own and all on his own terms speaks for itself.

If you want to experience the magic of Gavin James live onstage, try and catch him on May 30 at New York’s Highline Ballroom. Or better yet, if you’re in Ireland this summer, he’s playing the Marquee in Cork and the Galway Arts Festival in July.

 

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