Jeremy Warmsley - 'How We Became' (Transgressive) Released 06/10/08

A couple of years back Jeremy Warmsley stood alone, with an acoustic guitar at hand, staring nervously towards empty spaces in a low-capacity London venue. But word spread. A loyal fan base emerged. As did the dark, daring debut 'The Art of Fiction'. But truth be told,the word is still spreading. It's a sort of tap effect, drip after drip those who'd slump lovingly into Warmsley's charms are gradually doing just that. But in 'How We Became', the aim is to surely quicken the Chinese whispers and to make Jeremy a star...

The method? To write accessible and dare we say it, basic pop songs for the people. At least that's what he's claiming to be doing. The complexities emerge however, somewhere they lurk and they're not too difficult to dig up. They come in the form of the jaw dropping, piano-led closing minute of 'Craneflies', the ever-changing, fidgety drum loop on the title-track and most fundamentally, the lyrics. The Warmsley we knew so well as a shy, love-hungry fellow from his debut, well, turns out he's tough, and it's evident in his words. 'If He Breaks Your Heart', without going over the top, is genius. "If he takes the pace, I will break his face"..."If he never gets the message written loud and clear, I will write it down, I will take him down". You picture his geeky persona suddenly turning into this Hulk-esque juggernaut, fists the size of rocks. Well, right up until he unveils the line, "If he breaks your heart, will I stand a chance?". It's a beautiful lyric, one that makes you stop, think and smile. It's these little tiny details that makes this record more than just a sackful of hits.

But the hits are building. Warmsley has a spring in his step, sounding a thousands times more inspired than on a debut that gave his this label as "a potential..(insert well-known musician here)". A jack has been plugged in, leading from an amp to an electric guitar and even that's enough to wet the appetite. The plan could falter, but it doesn't ever sound like a desperate attempt to break ground and scrawl down some new ideas. In opener, 'Lose My Cool' and the ferocious highlight of the record, 'Take Care', it sounds like he's suddenly discovered technology for the first time, he's picking up these gadgets and toys and is embracing every little bit of it. The aforementioned leaps at you when you least expect - after some delicate acoustic whimpers in the opening 30 seconds, the whole piece lifts off and refuses to look down.

Stardom lies however in the halfway-mark asserted by 'Dancing With The Enemy'. Lyrically it has diversity, telling a story of a war-time love affair whilst tackling thoughts of guilt and innocence but musically, it conforms to the 80's buzz that's surrounded the likes of Mystery Jets in particular over the last year. Saxophone emerges in the chorus
- a clever and most likely well-thought out addition. And it's all pulled off with this new-found confidence and determination. It's almost as if he's woken up from a 6 month coma to see the sun rising and the flowers emerging, with a winning lottery ticket in his right hand. It's unbelievably triumphant.

And when he returns to the sound of fragility in 'I Keep The City Burning', 'Turn Your Back' and the guilt-ridden 'Sins (I Try)', there's a purpose to it, and a smiling face at the end of it. This burning lap of happiness just continues on when it's asked to die down. When the pace is slowed down, it's a welcome, but halfway through these numbers, you once more crave a sudden lighting bolt of anger, frustration, joy, whatever. Emotions are truly scattered from one place to the other in 'How We Became' and it's remarkable that it sounds like such a brilliant, balanced album.