{"id":64909,"date":"2020-09-25T09:20:23","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T08:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=64909"},"modified":"2020-09-10T11:39:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T10:39:11","slug":"ep-review-james-billett-is-captivating-on-what-will-they-say-about-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/09\/ep-review-james-billett-is-captivating-on-what-will-they-say-about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"EP REVIEW: James Billett Is Captivating On &#8216;What Will They Say About Us&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Watching your own downward spiral from the detached vantage point of a spectator is nothing to scoff at. Turning it into a song is something to be commended &#8211; and this is what \u2018Hall of Fear\u2019 off James Billett\u2019s debut EP, \u2018What Will They Say About Us\u2019, is.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Written in the wake of walking away from James Billett\u2019s original music career, signed to a major record label, the song is a testament to the strength of Billett\u2019s convictions of himself as a songwriter and artist. In the past, Billett had already begun establishing a music career for himself. He was signed to a major record label and gathered momentum and interest, before deciding that it wasn\u2019t right. Walking away from a path to stardom so perfectly laid out for him would not have been an easy decision to make.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI started to hate the idea of becoming famous if all it meant was wearing the right things and singing songs you didn\u2019t like,\u201d says Billett.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Having felt stifled creatively and trapped during his time on the label, James Billett was then free to write his own songs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">No subject is off limits amongst the other tracks either, as political topics such as the #MeToo movement, police brutality and gay rights are all tackled with sensitivity and politicised lyricism. Lead single \u2018Faith Over Family\u2019 is a sombre yet beautiful damnation of the religious attitudes towards homosexuality, played out as the observations of a father and son\u2019s differing attitudes. It\u2019s the universal played out in the personal &#8211; a brilliant way of exploring the topics and a testament to Billett\u2019s skills as a storyteller.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u2018What Will They Say About Us\u2019 is the definitive statement of arrival from one of the most exciting new musical acts on the folk scene today.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The &#8216;What Will They Say About Us&#8217; EP is released on the 25th September 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watching your own downward spiral from the detached vantage point of a spectator is nothing to scoff at. Turning it into a song is something to be commended &#8211; and this is what \u2018Hall of Fear\u2019 off James Billett\u2019s debut EP, \u2018What Will They Say About Us\u2019, is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":64910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21447,7,21454,9,21445,21446],"tags":[2299,4753,26018,25338,12,77,370,18471,116,25889],"class_list":["post-64909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ep-reviews","category-music","category-new-eps","category-new-releases","category-reviews","category-single-reviews","tag-debut-ep","tag-ep-review","tag-hall-of-fear","tag-james-billett","tag-music","tag-new-release","tag-new-single","tag-polly-havelock","tag-review","tag-what-will-they-say-about-us"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-gSV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64398,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/08\/james-billett-returns-with-sophomore-single-what-will-they-say-about-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":64909,"position":0},"title":"James Billett Returns With Sophomore Single, \u2018What Will They Say About Us\u2019","author":"Polly Havelock","date":"11\/08\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In keeping with the tradition of political songs, James Billett follows his release of \u2018Faith Over Family\u2019 with his take on the police brutality crisis, sophomore single \u2018What Will They Say About Us\u2019.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C617&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C617&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C617&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/unnamed-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C617&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62743,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/06\/faith-over-family-the-pride-month-anthem-from-elton-johns-protege\/","url_meta":{"origin":64909,"position":1},"title":"\u2018Faith Over Family\u2019: The Pride Month Anthem From Elton John\u2019s Prot\u00e9g\u00e9","author":"Polly Havelock","date":"03\/06\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"James Billett, the man who was, for a while, known as Elton John\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9, has just released his new single - \u2018Faith Over Family\u2019.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/FOF-Artwork.jpeg?fit=480%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63086,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2020\/06\/james-billett-has-just-dropped-the-video-for-his-release-faith-over-family-and-its-breathtaking\/","url_meta":{"origin":64909,"position":2},"title":"James Billett Has Just Dropped The Video For His Release, \u2018Faith Over Family\u2019 &#8211; And It\u2019s Breathtaking.","author":"Polly Havelock","date":"16\/06\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The \u2018Faith Over Family\u2019 singer has orchestrated one of the most breathtaking music videos in recent years - and he appears nowhere in it!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/FOF-Artwork-1.jpeg?fit=480%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":31535,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/11\/31535stockholm-based-dream-pop-band-novah-talk-new-single-ghost-and-future-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":64909,"position":3},"title":"Stockholm&#8217;s Novah Talk New Single &#8216;Ghost&#8217; And Future Plans","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"27\/11\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Following their successful debut EP, 'Alaska', Stockholm-based dream pop band Novah have teamed up with acclaimed singer\/songwriter Amanda Mair for new single \u2018Ghost\u2019. Speaking to Essentially Pop, band member Simon Hagstrom talks about the inspiration behind the collaboration, the band\u2019s career highlights and plans for their second EP.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-26-at-10.43.44-PM.png?fit=633%2C537&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-26-at-10.43.44-PM.png?fit=633%2C537&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Screen-Shot-2017-11-26-at-10.43.44-PM.png?fit=633%2C537&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 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