‘If You’re Happy And You Know It, Something’s Wrong’ is the song that convinced me that James Tristan Redding is a man after my own heart. He looks like a clean-cut all-American kid but consider the tight-lipped smile and the dishevelled tie – there’s a streak of misanthropy in there.
Walking Into Brooklyn is James’ first proper solo album after more than ten years with his alt-country band, Union Pulse. His website will tell you that he’s released fourteen albums but look again – several of them are entirely imaginary. That’s the sort of humour that pervades this album. James has recorded entirely solo, just over-dubbing some country lead guitar over his acoustic. His voice is pleasantly gravely but can be sweet and clear or a manic Tom-Waits-chewing-razorblades death rattle.
Best tracks include the opener, ‘A Girl Named Elizabeth’, ‘My Dad Is A Bad Ass’, ‘Song For Leslie’ – the latter for his wilful mispronunciation of the subject’s name and the deliberately awful rhymes – and the break-up song that closes the set, ‘3,000 Miles’. James has more back-story that you can believe and I don’t believe quite a lot of it but that doesn’t matter; his music will fire your imagination.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: http://www.jamestristanredding.com/
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