Sometimes, we want things loud. Today, I talk about something by Jim James.
I liked heavy music when I was young. The type of music where the screaming was unintelligible, where the guitars were tuned so low it’s a wonder they could even be plucked, where the double-kick drums worked overtime. I don’t anymore, though I can still play a Black Flag record and perhaps a metal song or two. ‘Throwback’ isn’t as heavy by any means, I don’t think you can expect that from Jim James. What it is is fuzzy, a song where James’ voice cracks throughout, as though not stopping for breath. Raucous and without abandon, a ball of flame. You could listen to the acoustic version on Uniform Clarity but the electric one on Uniform Distortion is the cut to get into for the subject matter. After all, what were you like when you were young?
Joel Mak 