Jamie Lindell has quite a range, he has been flirting with the limits of soul, rhythm n’ blues, hip-hop, funk, blues, glitch, electro and jazz for a decade and every single article written about his music has associated him with any kind of musical genre existing at the surface of the planet. What is this bulimia of sounds and rhythm? An obsession it seems, I have visited his myspace page and there is about everything from Otis Redding to Motown to pure electronic. No wonder Beck got interested.
‘Coma Cameleon’, the 12th track from his brand new album ‘Compass’ surprises you like nothing you have ever heard before! ! Yes you can associate it with many things, acoustic and visual things but the final result, this combination is quite uniquely peculiar. The track was produced by Beck, recorded at his Hudson Studios (the name of the street where Beck lives? It could be) in Los Angeles, and there is no doubt the song would feel at ease in a Beck album,…but think ‘Guero’ or ‘The Information’, or a little bit ‘Midnite Vultures’ but definitely not ‘Sea Change’. Obviously an influence on ‘Coma Chameleon’, Beck seems to have brought his extravagant touch and his bizarro funk.
Imagine bombastic drums, almost scary, making the noise of a deep heartbeat, outbursts of saxophones, and a loud gospelish voice hurling and blasting ‘Coma Chameleon, if you ever wake up, you will see what you have done’. The song is a charge of infuriated drum beats, short hurling horns, and discordant sounds. It is a ferocious song, a chase through rage and vengeance, and with so much angry energy you have to wonder whether someone has just committed a crime. I’m not sure, but the atmosphere is a little scary, it makes you feel uncomfortable and concerned and could make you crawl under your bed. But if you feel insecure or disturbed it is not in a bad way, because all you want to do is looking for more of this.
Jamie Lidell, a white British man with the intonation of a Gnarls Barkley, has such a powerful voice that his weird soul gospel sounds echo in your mind long after the song abruptly ends. And I don’t know if he falls into a coma between albums, waiting to be reincarnated into another type of music, but he certainly is the chameleon of the musical genres.