Yummy (James album) explained

Yummy
Type:studio
Artist:James
Cover:James - Yummy.jpg
Alt:An image of an ice lolly with butterflies in it
Caption:Standard edition of the album; the deluxe edition has yellow and pink sides and some digital editions feature an animated cover with the lolly rotating.
Studio:Abbey Road, London, England, UK
Label:
Producer:Leo Abrahams
Prev Title:Be Opened by the Wonderful
Prev Year:2023

Yummy is the eighteenth studio album by British indie rock band James, released through Nothing But Love and Virgin Music on 12 April 2024. It has received positive reviews from critics.

Recording

Yummy consists of 12 tracks written by James members Tim Booth, Jim Glennie, Saul Davies and Mark Hunter. It is their first studio release as a nine-piece. Produced by Leo Abrahams, it was later mixed by Cenzo Townshend and mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios.

A second, more experimental album, Pudding, was recorded during the sessions for Yummy, and consists mainly of unfinished demos and jams similar to James' 1994 work Wah Wah. This was included as a bonus disc on the deluxe edition of Yummy.

The album does not feature regular James drummer David Baynton-Power, although he is featured on the inside cover. His drum parts are mostly played by Davies and Deborah Knox-Hewson. There are also a great number of guest musicians contributing, notably producer Abrahams and Peter Glennie, brother of Jim.

Reception

Writing for Clash Music, Emma Harrison called this album "an inspired, thought-provoking work" that is "joyful and uplifting throughout", across "twelve astute tracks that tackle all manner of themes that tackle everything from AI and ageism to mental life and mortality and everything in-between" and rated Yummy an 8 out of 10. Hot Press John Walshe also scored this 8 out of 10, calling it "like a poppier OK Computer" that is "brimming over with soaring melodies and toe-tapping rhythms". At Louder Than War, Yummy was named Album of the Week and critic David Brown called this "one of their strongest collections of [James'] career", representing "the sound of a band refusing to rest on their laurels, in love with their creative process and looking forward rather than backwards".

Track listing

  1. "Is This Love" – 3:39
  2. "Life's a Fucking Miracle" – 4:15
  3. "Better with You" – 4:38
  4. "Stay" – 3:45
  5. "Shadow of a Giant" – 6:18
  6. "Way Over Your Head" – 4:19
  7. "Mobile God" – 4:49
  8. "Our World" – 4:17
  9. "Rogue" – 4:12
  10. "Hey" – 4:34
  11. "Butterfly" – 5:00
  12. "Folks" – 3:53

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

  2. "If You Wanna Grow Old" – 4:52
  3. "Rain On" – 3:34
  4. "Hard to Imagine" – 3:53
  5. "Pieces of Gum" – 5:39

Pudding

  1. "Anyone But You" – 3:57
  2. "Close Enough" – 3:46
  3. "Mine to Lose" – 4:35
  4. "Activist Song" – 7:09
  5. "Won't Be the Same" – 4:19
  6. "Tell Me Something" – 3:47
  7. "Poolewe Day1Jam4" – 6:30
  8. "Arpen Charp" – 4:08
  9. "Deliver the Dawn" – 4:23
  10. "Something of a Pleasure" – 4:53
  11. "Walk Tall" – 4:06
  12. "50s Out Takes" – 4:09

Personnel

James

Additional personnel

Chart performance

Yummy was the second James album to top the British charts, after 1998's The Best of James and the band's 19th in the top 40.

See also

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Yummy (James album)".

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