An experienced songwriter, guitarist and vocalist hailing from just down the road in Leeds, James Whiteley is new to our blog thanks to his first solo album, The Waves.
By Graeme Smith
The Waves was inspired by a trip to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in Northumberland. Once home to a monastery that was destroyed by Vikings, it seems a suitable place to reflect on mortality and loss, both central themes to Whiteley’s album.
The collection is introduced by a slow and atmospheric opener, Stormwatch. Whiteley considers Pink Floyd to be among his influences and you hear it here. Moody layers pour atop each other before we get some echoing notes that could have sprung directly from David Gilmour’s guitar. The arrangement gives the impression of a building conflict.
That conflict comes a head during the tense Voices from Inside. Rumbling bass underpins a composition in which we hear our first vocals. Whiteley has a soulful vocal style, understated but with emotional impact. There’s a sense of intimacy in its storytelling lyrics that makes it an early highlight.
Reaching Out strips things back for an acoustic moment that leans into Whiteley’s ’90s alternative rock influences. As the track progresses, it builds bombastically, arriving at an epic crescendo. It sets up the album’s most ambitious track nicely.
Haunted is a twelve-minute prog-rock meditation that opens gently and ambiently before launching into a melancholic and gripping yarn. Just as you start to get the measure of it, it grows in stature, giving us ponderous guitar and some strikingly poetic lyrics, then changes tone to a moodiness that’s worthy of its name.
Things are then rounded off by two shorter, but no less impressive numbers. Red Horizon feels like a turning point, mixing some dark undertones with hopeful lyrics. Falling Under rounds off the album’s journey in boundary-pushing style, reminiscent of the edginess of the aforementioned Pink Floyd’s Time in its intro before becoming soft and airy.
James Whiteley’s new album makes it clear what an accomplished songwriter he is. Each track has a story to tell, and does so with thought and flair. He’s breathing new life into the prog rock genre and what a bonus it is that’s he’s a local artist! If you’re looking for a record in which to get lost today, then you need look no further. Whiteley’s debut is a must-listen.
The Waves is out now and you can give it a listen below.
