The engine that drives the male-female duo is usually a back and forth banter of dramatic counterplay. The woman projects the loudness of her voice over the man keeping a turn of phrase hidden under careless-sounding verbiage. The duo is a tired form in pop-rock right now and a dangerous one if said duo decides to mock the ideas of the White Stripes or Mates of State.
The best thing about Georgie James, is, in fact the lack of interplay. Alternating songs feature John Davis' more monotone-yet-compelling tones with Laura Burhenn's passionate singer-songwriter-fitted voice. Both voices work perfectly with Davis' idea of the Kinks by way of Q and Not U style of rhythm and music. The fact that Georgie James stay away from vocal interplay keeps the music fresh and inspiring—and the album itself remains a well-produced quality sound.
Even the lyrics themselves provide hooks and catches for the listener. The song "More Lights," with its Americana-like opening move through verses filled with background of piano and loud crashing drums, moves through predictable lyrics but a super-catchy chorus to the tune "We need more lights on in our neighborhood, and in our homes." One of the only songs to seamlessly integrate the two voices, this is the track that puts the album in perspective. This is the perfect example of not overbearing the listener with duality, but letting it flow naturally when it sounds best. In Cake Parade, the album's second track, Burhenn lets her powerful voice meander over a simple beat and a bouncy organ without overdoing her grandness. "The sun is out/ looks like a perfect day/ to put our soldiers on/ a cake parade," she begins on a song that is less anti-war or message-filled than it is pro-peace, like "99 Luftballoons" if sung by Aimee Mann.
As the album progresses, a certain boringness insists itself upon the listener, but it is as easily ignorable as Places is enjoyable. Sure, the perfection of songs like "Need Your Needs" is gone in the latter half of the album, but hidden gems like "Hard Feelings" begin with jangling acoustic guitars reminiscent of the British Invasion. The chorus rings in with a modern dilemma not unlike the Kinks had in their early years. "Can't you see there's treasure all around/but everybody's digging underground…You, you never had any credit cards/ and I do, but you don't know that these feelings will always be hard for you." The down tempo "You Can Have It" is worthwhile though cheesy and the album-ending "Only 'Cause You're Young" ends on a mid-tempo note with a subtle nod to the Lemonheads and the same '60s power-pop simultaneously.
Clever and catchy seems to be the overall knack (pun intended) or niche for Georgie James, but Places is a catcall and a battleaxe at the same time. The overall aesthetic is an overshadowing idea much like most male-female duo bands, but the subtleties and tremendous knowledge of their musical abilities catapult Georgie James' debut past the usual lot of cutesy or straightforward duos out there right now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they came close to surpassing them fairly quickly. |