After a year spent supporting Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, inking international deals, and generally climbing the ladder towards stardom, Gavin James’ long-awaited debut LP has finally arrived. It is among the most hotly anticipated Irish releases of the year – and fans will be pleased to hear that it doesn’t disappoint. Au contraire…
Many in this part of the world will already be well aware of Gavin James’ huge talent, and the musical riches that the Dublin native can conjure apparently almost out of nothing. On Bitter Pill, Gavin confirms all of that – with knobs on.
The tunes that have become live favourites are all present and correct here: ‘For You’, ‘The Book of Love’, ‘TillThe Sun Comes Up’ and lots more besides. But they have been beefed up here, with an added punch, courtesy of producers who’ve guided Adele, Florence and others in the past.
The occasional track is given a minimalist touch – the pared-back ‘Hole In My Heart’, for example – but plenty more get the full-band treatment, complete with soaring strings and backing choirs. The important thing, though, is that the once-in-a-generation voice is given the room to shine – and shine it does. The quality of the songs on show is consistently strong too: ‘Coming Home’ is a thing of gentle beauty, sung with gorgeous conviction; ‘Say Hello’ is propulsive and teeming with lyrical nuance, over occasionally jazz-inflected chords. These, and any number of others, would sit handsomely in the higher reaches of the singles charts. But the truth is that James’ staggering range and wonderfully natural timbre carry the day every time. He is a great singer, who makes songs his own in a way that brooks no argument.
The piano ballad ‘22’ is not dissimilar to something we might expect from Adele – and not just because of the title either. It is possible that the all-conquering Londoner will deny James the No. 1 slot in Bitter Pill’s first week of release, but that’s not important in the bigger picture. This record announces the arrival of a major new voice, more than capable of taking on the world. Gavin James: a star is born…