James are one of those bands who put out a few AMAZING records, then have a much longer and more successful career doing somewhat less amazing music, to the extent that not all that many people really know their great stuff. Originally unfairly tagged as a Smiths-wannabe group, their first two singles were released on Factory in 1983 and 1984 and what crucial artifacts they are. Coming from out of leftfield (well, Manchester, anyway), “Jimone” and “James II” still sound startling more than twenty years later. Strands of folk, pop and post-punk are intricately wound together, fired by Gavin Whelan’s frantic drumming and singer Tim Booth’s full-throated declamations.

Both singles were fairly popular by the indie standards of the day, but a poorly-conceived major label deal dragged the band down, and later deals eventually pushed them in more commercial directions. Whereupon, against all odds, they became a huge, UK chart-busting act in the early 90s and alas our interest does not follow. “Hymn From A Village” is the b-side of the “James II” 7″ and remains one of my favorite songs from the mid-80s, heck perhaps just one of my favorites full-stop. It’s a b-side that could be an a-side, a band-defining anthem that appears (sorry, i’m terrible with lyrics sometimes) to take aim at the indie music scene of the day and perhaps pop music in general, post-punk optimists fighting against a most cynical industry. A thrilling, frenetic rush, “Hymn From A Village” could have come out yesterday, it sounds that fresh and urgent still. Man, do I love it. I hope you do too. Oh, and PS – the name of our blog was taken from one of those early James songs. We’ll post that soon, too.

Hymn From A Village, [mp3]