JAMES : PTMY SCENE ONE REVIEW

Eleven albums down the line and James are still trying to recapture the melancholic beauty of 'Laid' or the sussed-pop bluster of 'Goldmother'. 'Millionaires' should've sold bucketloads but 'Pleased To Meet You' is nowhere near as good.

* "The majority is chugging, undynamic and noodlesome, seemingly conceived as grooves rather than songs, with Booth rifling through an encyclopaedia of vocal tics and FX to deliver an almost self-parodying splurge of limp-wristed anti-materialism." Q 2/5

* "'Getting Away With It' and 'Alaskan Pipeline' are more recognisably Jamesean, with melodic intros and Booth wailing as if he's halfway up the Matterhorn. An extra star is awarded, though, for the sparse and lovely 'Space'." Guardian 3/5