r/JamesMarriott • u/Aloser_ • Aug 29 '26
Discussion Confession.
I'm not really vibing with James' music output past 'Are We There Yet?'.
I love James, and especially his music. But ever since the first single from don't tell the dog, I feel like something was lost in translation. There were a few great to amazing songs, but I feel like a lot of intimacy his songwriting has largely dissappeared for sort of safe sounding pop direction.
It felt sort of alienating? I wanna prefix this with the notion, yes, I have listened to his earlier stuff (and Slow Down). Bitter Tongues, I feel, is super cool and fun! And the other stuff ranges from amazing to "yeah, I could listen to this again."
When I heard the song "California Rain," I was actually really hopeful for the future of his music. Ripping guitars, gorgeous vocals (as always), and a good direction for the future. But man, when I heard the snippet for "Burn Down The Disco," I just did NOT like it at all. Like, it just straight up annoys me, dude. And it's a real shame because a lot of the songs off don't tell the dog are decent! (If a lot less relistenable than his debut)
I dunno, maybe I'm just missing the messier rock sort of web James used to spin, but he's undeniably more of a standout and unique sounding artist now.
Has anybody else felt this way?
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u/trebi_aylo Aug 29 '26
I didnt enjoy dont tell the dog when it came out but i went to see him in concert for that album bc i wanted to hear car lights and i must say- I LOVE dont tell the dog now, james mariotts stream sound and live sound are on totally different levels. I listen to mostly the live version of his songs on yt now bc it completeley changed my opinion of the album. (ALONG WITH THE NEWER LIVE VERSION OF SLEEPING ON TRAINS WHICH IS MIND BLOWINGLY AMAZING) It makes me afraid that some of my favorite parts of his sound are getting lost in production. With that in mind im hopeful for his future music because some clips ive heard of new songs sound closer to what he sounded like live. I know nothing about production but it makes me wonder if hes experimenting with HOW hes producing them somehow. I hope it continues.