HEY MA - REJECT MUSICAL TRASH REVIEW

After Tim Booth announced he was quitting the band in 2001, it seemed ludicrous that the band would continue without their front man. Of course it couldn’t and didn’t happen. The years passed and then, like many former success stories who called it a day, there was talk of a reformation and a surprise sell out arena tour last year cemented the decision to record again.

For die hard James fan’s who cite the ‘SEVEN’ era as their peak years, they won’t be disappointed. In both production and arrangement, ‘Hey Ma’ delivers a healthy fusion of celebratory brass riffs with rolling guitar melodies and Booth’s typical attention grabbing lyrics. “Hey Ma boys in body bags coming home in pieces” he sings on the title track, which is probably the most poignant lyric I’ve ever heard in regards to the Iraq conflict.

The critics will of course have the knives out as ever, attacking him for his political and outlandish religious statements and Hey Ma, as an album, will be damned for apparently pandering to the glory days, but any band who comes back with 11 songs of this standard can frankly do as they like.