EP Review: James Vickery - 'Sheet Music'
With smokey tone, silky smooth riffs and melodies that send the room spinning, James Vickery’s new EP has all the components of RnB gold.
Having only released his debut album in 2021, James Vickery has quickly become one of the biggest names in British RnB.What is so special about Vickery’s artistry is how it speaks to the idea that anything is possible. His story is one of perseverance and resilience, having undergone surgery as a child and being left deaf in one ear. He discovered his voice through speech therapy and it has been filling rooms and hearts since. This EP is all about love and has sensuality at its core. Filled both with references to Vickery’s inspirations and contemporary beats that have become synonymous with the RnB of the UK today, this album is a love letter that will leave you spinning giddily around and around in circles.
The EP opens with ‘Only You’. It fits perfectly; by putting this one first Vickery is saying that his sensuality and emotions start with you and only you. From the opening bars, you can feel Vickery’s old soul. Both melodically and lyrically, there is a big nod to Gene Wilder’s ‘Pure Imagination’, a gorgeous standard co-written by Anthony Newley, one of the biggest names in jazz soul. Vickery’s variation on the lyrics are tender and heartfelt and the dreaminess of the original is amped up to 10 as they are delivered by chords of voices singing a capella. Slowly a synth bassline comes in and Vickery’s smooth riffs give the track that classic RnB sound. The swelling harmonies add so much depth to the lyrics and you feel like you are being surrounded and drawn in by them, enveloped by their warmth.
‘Only you make my world so happy, only you can brighten my nights. Always you, and always will be. Only you will have my heart.’
The rhythm section is deliberately stripped back in these moments, putting full emphasis on Vickery’s vocals. In moments without lyrics, you begin to appreciate just how much tenderness exudes out of Vickery’s tone; his love and passion for his partner transcend language and can be illustrated purely with the sound of his voice. Between the big swells of harmony there is a shimmery synth motif that pops up here and there that adds shade and texture to what is quite a ‘big’ and momentous track. This softness is echoed again in the outro which consists simply of a raw vocal recording; while the production on this track illustrate the grandiosity and larger than life quality of Vickery’s sound, we understand by the end that at the centre of it all that there really needs to be is him and his voice.
The first single to be released from this angle, ‘The Reason’ comes next. Despite coming out in the summer last year, the track has a universality to it that makes it fit just as well in March as it did back in August. Like ‘Only You’, the track has its influences in the old soul classic blues sound. Vickery takes inspiration from Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and and Tom Misch’s ‘Movie’ to talk about the experience of starting a relationship and the discoveries you have in trying something new. He explained that he wanted to try to capture that initial sense of wonder with a relationship and the ways in which you realise your life has changed for the better because of it.
‘..the sudden realisation that you’ve made me such a better person while being with you, it's the reason why my life feels so great right now.
The track starts as it means to go on; smooth, warm, and embodying the sweet intoxication that comes with that ‘honeymoon phase’ in a relationship. Led by an electric guitar and the sound of fingers clicking, Vickery takes you on a stroll through the first verse. Vocal harmonies come in hot in the chorus section, unwrapping the layers of the track and taking it from being insular to something that feels wide open. Pauses in the middle of phrasing give even more space and breath to the track and reflect the ‘taking in’ of a new relationship. In the second verse, there is a ‘woaw’ effect on the synths that adds yet more flavour and could be read as an exclamation of how exciting and fun the newness of the relationship is. The ending is interesting as it kind of just comes out of nowhere. The track was characterised by its fluidity and ending things by just stopping catches your attention. You get a sense of Vickery’s thought out lyricism too as the final line you hear is ‘gone by night’, something which will pop up again as the album continues.
Track 3 initially presents itself as the piano ballad of the album. After the previous song closing on ‘night’, you are almost expecting things to slow down here and Vickery to delve deeper into his feelings. While not necessarily in the way you would expect, delve into his feelings is exactly what he does with this track. Its fitting that ‘Emotional’ comes right bang in the middle of the EP. It creates teh impression that Vickery’s sensuality and passion are at the centre of his art and by result the centre of everything. Everything else on the album radiates outward from this track and once you hear the album in its entirety, this becomes even more evident. The track opens with a lovely synth piano, the gentle sound of a crackling vinyl and James’s vocals on their own. Its really nice to see this vulnerability; so much of the album so far has been a demonstration of his ability to work with harmony and lots of voices at once so it feels really special and fitting given the song title to see him at his most exposed vocally. Rather than the piano ballad you perhaps were expecting, the beat comes in and creates this really mellow, shmoozy vibe, transporting you to a quiet jazz cocktail bar illuminated in yellow and orange. Vickery’s titular ‘emotions’ embody several different textures and hues; whilst they can feel intimate and vulnerable when the vox/piano are all you hear, they also can feel bright and deeply passionate when the music swells.
‘I can feel the tears in my eyes …. I cry, yes I cry, because somehow I’ve got you in my life’
The image of tears and crying is a recurring one in this track but rather than being a symbol of sadness, they reflect the weight of the longing and love Vickery feels. He talks openly about how his loved one elevates him and recognises his feelings rather than diminishing them-his crying is because he feels seen, understood and happy. The airy high notes he sings linger above the chorus line and further demonstrate this sense of ease he feels with his partner; being emotional is as effortless as singing like Mariah Carey. The track closes similarly to how it opened, Vickery’s vocals are left bare before a shimmery glock outro. You share the warmth, comfort and ease he feels and are ready to continue with the second half of the album.
The previous tracks have been characterised by the things that made Old School RnB great but from the get go, ‘With You’ moves towards what has come to make up the contemporary British sound. The synths and bluesy jazz melodies have made way for more of an acoustic bedroom pop vibe and the beat section has been brought right to the forefront, showing Vickery’s versatility and ability to tap into the more fresh and current iteration of the genre. A big part of this is the rap section, delivered with ease and sophistication by Kojey Rascal. It's been really nice to be hearing more of him recently, particularly after his hiatus. His feature on the EP is a lovely introduction to him as an artist and hopefully will send listeners towards ‘Reason to Smile’, his MOBO nominated album that was released last year. In the same way that the musicality of the track is an evolution, the lyrics and sound effects spark conversations about how modern romance and relationships have changed and become more reliant on social media and technology. A sample of a mechanic sound that pops up here and there is reminiscent of things like zoom/skype, the choice of the ‘U’ spelling in the title and use of terms like ‘rewind’ reflect the way in which we navigate relationships and our emotions has shifted with the 21st century. Kojey too muses on this subject, talking about his screen time and the many ways his relationship is linked to technology. Vickery has talked about how the song originally was about the inner conflict he was feeling when he felt there was no more room for him to grow in the British RnB scene. While you can get a sense of this motivation on the track, it's really interesting to see that since its release, it has been able to take on so many more meanings and resonate with people in a multitude of ways. Regardless of how you read it, it ultimately speaks to the desire and yearning to spend all of your time with your loved ones, something universal which will always transcend technology.
To close the EP, Vickery chooses ‘Always Knew’. By far the most sensual and thought out track on the album, the lyrics, instrumentation and delivery of this song is fantastic. All about balance and blending things together, it continues the contemporary rhythm and beats we saw in the last track but juxtaposes these against the sound of vinyl static. The lyrics on the verses are a stroke of poetic genius and are mirrors of themselves, what's going on sonically, and of the images Vickery seeks to create.
‘Take just a fleeting second girl, go and make up your mind. Baby, I want you for seconds girl, a third if we have time’
‘I don’t want to waste a second girl, waiting all my life. Your’e never coming second girl, only if you like.’
The lyrics emulate the idea that two things that are the same but different are melting together. In this instance, it's the use of the word ‘second’ but also is a reflection of different styles of the same music blending into one and also the image of two bodies coming together. The rhyming, word matching and melodic synchronicity gives the track a real fluidity and alongside the many harmonies and voices, you begin to feel like you’re swirling around the clouds. There's a gorgeous pause in between ‘I always’ and ‘Knew’ in the second verse which act as a breath between this colliding and unification of sound/lyrics/bodies and further emphasises the sensuality of it all. The track bookends the album well as it has a similar energy and motivation to ‘Only You’. Vickery’s EP and by result his emotions begin and end with the same thing; the girl he loves. The end of the song is a point of intrigue as in a similar way to ‘The Reason’ it appears to just kind of end-the record has stopped spinning and you are left waiting for the room to start turning again.
Music for the soul, James Vickery’s ‘Sheet Music’ has all the markings of a classic RnB record with hints of modern flare and artistry. The amount of collaboration featured on the EP point to just how welcoming and appreciative Vickery is of those around him and creates the beginnings of his next musical chapter. Already set to appear at SXSW in the summer, James has announced a string of dates in May, this music is stuff we can look forward to sharing. A warm, cosy and comforting listen, it's a perfect start to the spring season.
Words by Kirsty Ann Thomson
