Award-winning singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson released his fifth studio album ‘The Years In Between’, on March 29th, exploring themes of artistic struggles and doubt, while also allowing love and kindness to permeate the melodies.
Starting strong with ‘The Answer’ and then continuing on in ‘Safe With You’, Jamie’s talent for song-writing comes through crystal clear. Beautiful melodies merge with soulful vocals, and everything in the world seems brighter and better.
Things slow down as the ethereal soundscapes ‘(If I Held You) Here in My Arms’ ‘Perfect Sense’, and ‘Second Hand Hallelujah’ grace your ears, enveloping you with its warm, heartfelt delivery.
‘Broken’, a slow-build track which elevates Jamie’s hypnotic vocals, as it glides over muted instrumentals, becomes the first standout within the 12-track record, before ‘Chasing’, written in Nashville with Natalie Hemby and KS Rhodes, continues the winning streak with its strong melody.
‘These Troubled Times’, a country-tinged offering and soulfully backed ‘Where Have All the Good Vibrations Gone’ co-written with Turin Brakes, are both laden heavy with impactful messages, as they make proclamations of the love that gets us through tough times.
These messages are only the tip of the iceberg, as final track – the album’s title track – ‘The Years In Between’ comes with the strongest message. One of the most personal songs he has ever written it reminisces on the time between his father’s death – who sadly passed away when Jamie was 19 – and the present day, touching on what could have been. A song based on nostalgia and “what-could-have-beens”, it closes out an album in a bitter-sweet, heart-wrenching end, that leaves you missing everyone you lost in the journey of life.
While not without flaws – as the sound gets repetitive in parts – the album is one that makes you smile, cry and feel everything in between, ‘The Years In Between’ – which celebrates many of Jamie’s friends as co-writers – is the kind of record that you listen to years on end, with an unchanging heart full of love and admiration.
‘The Years In Between’ by Jamie Lawson, is out now through Gingerbread Man Records.
It is available here to stream, download, and as a CD and 140 gram black vinyl LP. Find Jamie Lawson online on his official website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube.
Jamie starts his European tour on April 12 in Bern, Switzerland, before winding his way around the UK and finishing at Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland, on May 12. Tickets and further information are available here.
