Straighten that hat and tuck in that shirt! (Jamie T - Carry on The Grudge)

Jamie T - Carry on The Grudge

Why you'll love it: Refreshing mature balladry

Why you'll hate it: Less of what "made" Jamie T

Biggest surprise of the year by a mile goes to Jamie T, who's always been, at best, a guilty pleasure of mine.  The scrappy Wimbledon punk made quite a splash in 2007 with his debut.  His slurry English accent.  The catchy hip hop delivery blended with indie rock hooks.  A heavy dose of teenage snobbery.  Panic Prevention was a damn fun album, with enough creativeness to give you the impression that there is more upstairs to this guy than what is led on.

If anything, his 2009 follow up was a textbook sophomore jinx.  It was the same album with much less impact.  That was the last we had heard from the once white hot budding new artist.  Seemingly out of the blue, I stumbled across Jamie T's first album in five years.  My expectations were low, but curiosity was too much to resist.  Could Jamie T STILL be clinging to the same shallow "white boy rap" songwriting style in his late 20s?

NO!  In one of the boldest moves I've sen in a while, Jamie T sheds his signature sound, and basically grows up!  From a business perspective, this is crazy.  Carry on The Grudge is hardly a "fun" album.  It mostly consists of sentimental ballads.  Only for about 10 minutes in the middle do you get something representing the Jamie T of old; and even then, these few songs with a little bite don't have the hip-hop affectations he's known for.  They're more rock focused.

Let's go back to the ballads though.  These are what really made an impression on me.  The first three songs on this album are wonderful.  They're sappy, but strong.  "Limits Lie" has a captivating pace.  The bridge has such a confident drive to it that I was already on board with this uncharted territory comeback for Jamie T.  Carry on The Grudge maintains the same mood just long enough for the only radio friendly pop single to creep its way in.  "Zombie" can be a little simple and corny, but its placement on the album is brilliant.  Just when the thought creeps in that maybe this album is a little bit too somber, the chorus to "Zombie" kicks in.  It's great to hear Jamie T experimenting in more ways to make a fun song than chav-core.

Unfortunately, this album is no classic.  After "Zombie", Jamie T has trouble finding his groove again.  The peppering in of a few hard hitting rock songs make it tougher.  It's not until the last three songs that he recaptures that sentimental magic.  Even then, it's three songs all competing to be the album closer, and one of those three fall flat.  Thankfully, it's a strong number in "They Told Me it Rained" that actually does close out the album.  Deleting what I consider to be the mis-steps, Carry on The Grudge is still 30 minutes of good music.  Not only is that more than I ever expected from a new Jamie T album, but his evolution is seriously impressive.  It's a brave thing to do, and it makes this album feel all the more important.