By Jesse Keith
James Murdoch’s debut album Between The Lines places him in the poppy-singer songwriter category, sort of like a Canadian John Mayer. James Murdoch, John Mayer–both JMs. And the cover for Between The Lines looks surprisingly like Mayer’s Room For Squares, but perhaps I’m reading a little too much between the lines.
Murdoch doesn’t do anything new, but everything he does is done well. The snappy guitar work and vocals have that infectious quality necessary for good pop music and they seem to stick in your head more and more with repeated listens.
My only complaint would be Murdoch’s lyrics are a little immature at times, but for the most part they stay well above the usual standard of pop.
I would wager anyone into singer/songwriter based pop music would be impressed with Between The Lines and I suspect this isn’t the last we’ll hear of James Murdoch. It seems like a good bet on the radio.