Album Review: James - La Petite Mort

Lucky number 13. Six years after the release of their last album, timeless UK rock group James have released their 13th record. The deaths of lead singer Tim Booth's mother and best friend are said to have inspired the existentialist explorations apparent on first single Moving On, and penultimate track Quicken The Dead. The Mancunians enlisted the services of Muse producer Max Dingel, perhaps hoping his big-sound experience would give a freshness to the LP. However, the thematic shift into darker territory comes across as more of a natural progression than Dingel's imported club-anthem beats.