Alec James
The Quiet Party
© 1997 Alec James (634479671227)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
Warm, low off-hand vocals accompanied by an understated backup band, lots of slow songs, and sarcastic, depressing lyrics about alienation, failed relationships, melancholy memories, and dreams.
tracks
- 1 Never Be The Same
- 2 Your Own World
- 3 Spiral Staircase
- 4 Auburn Days
- 5 Cigarette Girl
- 6 Lose My Mind
- 7 Women As A Second Language
- 8 Stephanie Says
- 9 Either Way
- 10 Bluegreen
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notes
NOTE: A big Thank You to all who have chosen The Quiet Party; it means a lot to know the songs are out there in the world. I am slowly working on a two new CD's: one of mostly upbeat material, and one of electronic/ambient groove material under the name Frequiem. I hope you enjoy the cd, drop a line sometime, and please check back for future discs. -- Alec James.
BIO:
The Quiet Party is the debut CD from Alec James, on Wanderlust Records.
Alec James presents himself as pop-folk singer/songwriter/guitarist with a warm, low voice, and melancholy lyrics spiked with sarcasm. The music maintains a relaxed feel throughout, with all ten songs in the slow-to-midtempo range. "I wanted to make a late-night type of record that never destroyed the mood with some upbeat number," James explains, "you know, a long drive record, or a makeout record. A record you can enjoy and ignore at the same time."
The Quiet Party has found airplay on a number of college stations, including charting for 6 weeks on WSIA in Staten Island, and James' songs have been featured in such independent films as "Voyeur.com," "Strings," "The Perfect Wife," and "Eight Lanes in Hamilton". In addition to dates in Los Angeles and San Diego, Alec James performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.
James has explored a variety of styles over his career, including punk (The UnSound), country (Dan Janisch, The Hankshow), jambands (Bughouse, Miles of Slack), and solo acoustic. In addition to headlining shows, he has shared bills with Masters of Reality, Eddie Munoz of The Plimsouls, and worked with Derf Scratch of FEAR and Jason Falkner of Jellyfish.
Alec James continues to play, write, record, and perform in Southern California, and currently lives in Hollywood, CA.
reviews
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Latenight Slowburner
author: Lane HewittJames’ muffler-warm, immaculately-phrased baritone booms and echoes throughout the lonesome landscapes of his tunes, capturing a late ‘60s country vibe on "Your Own World" and "Lose My Mind," and even classier romance on slow-burners "Spiral Staircase" and the chilling "Auburn Days". The best and wryest track is "Women As A Second Language", in which James croons gorgeously, "Do you have to be so shy?/so sly and enigmatic/or do I have to take women as a second language?" Most of the album finds James in this emotional wasteland, either winding down one relationship or doggedly pursuing another as lights go down and barrooms empty around him. Meanwhile, the mostly acoustic music collects gently at his back like a 3 am coastal wind (could he be the last escapee from Hotel California?). Fans of Chris Isaak’s saddest material and grand mopers like Mark Eitzel, Mark Lanegan and Red House Painters should swiftly add Alec James to their list of dusk-til-dawn narrators.
crooning rock
author: Titus Dawsona romantic croon rock album that has calmed my anxiety with its melodic humor more times than i can remember... definattly a fave in my collection!!
Nice Mellow
author: Tom HobbsNice easiy listening, Great end of the day CD. I really liked "Women as a Second Language."
The Right Disc to Play After A 19-hour Nap
author: Scott ZagarThis is the most non-intrusive CD in my collection - think of Mazzy Star meeting the mellow genius of Paul Westerberg, and then forget about categorization (but don't ever forget Lou Reed), and just imagine what it would be like to wake up in a foggy, centuries-old Parisian flat, overlooking some Truffaut-style wet streets... The Quiet Party is one of those CD's that you'll have autoplayed about four times before you recognize the gray morning poking through the Venetian blinds. I'm thus inspired to spare myself any further music rag contrivances and simply state that The Quiet Party is the best CD I've woken up to in a long time.
Good late night listening with a frosty bottle of beer
author: Anti-Elitist AudiozineWith songs like "Women as a Second Language", "Cigarette Girl", and "Lose My Mind" this singer/songwriter articulates love lost and love explored with exceptional lyrical prose. He breaches these easily cliched topics and manages to come off genuine and uninhibited. I can hear some Leonard Cohen influence as well as Lou Reed, which I guess is obvious since he covers "Stephanie Says"... my favorite Velvet Underground song. He captures consistently good performances throughout the disc, however, the best song by far is the first track "Never Be The Same."
Pleasantly surprized
author: Kirk JWell worth the 10 bucks!....
quietly disquieting
author: Reducer 62Alec James makes music that is by turns both quiet and disquieting. Musically gentle for the most part yet lyrically brutal at the same time. Not brutal in a punk rock fuck you sort of way, but subtly sarcastic with an overall effect that approaches brutality.
This is one of my favorite CD's
author: Jesse RamirezThis is one of my favorite CD's that I play time and time again, yet never grow tired of. It is perfectly enjoyable for both ambiance and dedicated listening. Good for a party and good for a mellow ride with one's girlfriend (or may be even a little cuddling).
The ultimate mood-setter
author: Eric O'connorwhether you're kicking back on a mellow summer afternoon with something fruity and alcoholic (and i don't mean your aunt dorothy), or wooing that special someone after a perfect candle light dinner, you'd be hard pressed to do better than this collection of downbeat but tuneful folk-pop songs.