Throwback Thursday: Jamie T 'Panic Prevention'

Image: Jamie T (Credit weartyou.com)

Will Jamie T ever reach the heights of Panic Prevention? Probably not, but only for the reason that our youth is by far the best time of our life and that's exactly what the record is about. 

Revisit Jamie's slab of DIY beats and troublesome tales and it'll all come crashing back to you, every little word and nuance of the album extracted from your subconscious. Throw in the Mercury nomination and it's clear to see why this was a formidable debut. 

It's been frequently likened to The Streets, there's no doubt that both bare similarities, which is no surprise when considering both were born out of piecing elements from several genres together and relaying social commentary over a block of unpolished bedroom beats. 

Jamie Treays, born out of Wimbledon, was 21 at the time of release and that reflects greatly throughout the album (listen to it below).

'Ike and Tina' a song that merges domestic violence and life growing up in the South London suburb regales tales of "gurning off a my face", police chases and pissed up parenthood: all bundled into often cryptic but decipherable enough verses that etch firmly into your memory. 

What's more is that it was oh-so-British, patched together in such an unconventional way that vividly told its own story without taking aim at society and rather opting for humour and deftly constructed verses that were spun with far more intelligence than appeared. 

'Operation' references Kofi Annan - "take your problem to United Nations, tell old Kofi about the situation" - a former secretary general of the UN while 'Pacemaker' relays "Body bags come on planes from war torn Iraq" within 11 seconds of instructing "Juveniles, hide your porno mags" over a bass line presumably knocked up on his "cracked out" bass guitar.    

Then there's the infectious 'Sheila', a quick-firing of short stories regaling the tragic fates of Smack Jack the Cracker Man, Georgina and the unfortunate girl behind the title - whether they're true to life is questionable, although an album hinged on Jamie's panic attacks suggests fact over fiction. 

The violent and impassioned advances of 'Salvador' lend themselves brilliantly to a night on the town, 'Calm Down Dearest' is again constructed around a couple of city boys living for the weekend. Both are hits built on true to life occurrences, in a completely refreshing motif, away from the humdrum of soulless pop riding the airwaves at the time.   

From the elite wordplay, the accordion-cum-bass guitar plucked landscapes to intricacies such as the deranged sampling, top to bottom this album is a timeless piece of youth culture that resonates as a stealthy classic. After all it opens with shouts of "Fucking Croissant" - how many albums can lay claim to that?    

Jamie T plays both Reading Festival and Leeds Festival over August Bank Holiday weekend - follow the appropriate link for tickets. 

Read: 'Throwback Thursday: The Streets 'Original Pirate Material'