The sophomore album from Early James, Strange Time To Be Alive is the sound of an artist sublimely out of step with the world. With all the charmed eccentricity of a true poet, the Alabama-bred singer/songwriter takes in the endless absurdity he sees around him, then alchemizes his unease into a glorious patchwork of musical idioms: forsaken blues and contemplative folk songs, brooding murder ballads and lovestruck piano tunes. Produced by multi-Grammy Award winner Dan Auerbach, Strange Time To Be Alive ultimately extracts a certain magic from the madness, imbuing even the most painful truth-telling with a wild-eyed joie de vivre.
Strange Time To Be Alive was met with adoring praise and high ratings from No Depression, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and more following its release. American Songwriter wrote, “Like Tom Waits, whose music James’ somewhat approximates, Early is a man out of time. There’s nothing either contemporary or particularly retro about his blues/folk/jazz/country gumbo. Rather it exists in its own distinct bubble, a composite of genres that morphs around each of these dozen tracks on his second effort.”
The same day of release Early James played to a sold out show at Nashville’s historical Station Inn. He now heads out to join The Black Keys on their Dropout Boogie Tour beginning August 24 in West Palm Beach, FL.
Listen to Strange Time To Be Alive available everywhere now. Watch the official music videos and listen on YouTube HERE.
