Don’t Blame Me - James Marriott
Amazing artwork by James Fenner
James Marriott, an incredible, new, indie rock singer and musician from Brighton, has just released his latest song “Don’t Blame Me” which is the last one in his first, upcoming album “ Are We There Yet?” which is being released on the 10th of November.
The song as a whole was so well thought out from the lyrics, production levels, vibes, and the music video which James directed himself.
The lyrics in Don’t Blame Me can be interpreted in many ways but for me, it’s about a toxic relationship where his partner does not want this relationship as the “Best of our times was the worst of your life” when he was only trying his best in this relationship to make it work “All I did was agree. To mask all the misstеps for our chemistry”. In regards to ‘chemistry’ the lyrics made it clear that there was no love so If nothing’s working and all is failing, “cutting ties” makes sense. The expression ‘don’t blame me’ is frequently sung throughout the song to demonstrate that he did all he could to save the relationship and to keep each other from being miserable when it wasn't worth saving so the partner has no right to hate on him.
From the beginning of the song to the end, the production (By Psylla) and layout of this song are everything. It starts slowly which complements the lyrics in verse 1 such as “You touch me too softly”. This reminds me of ‘romanticise this’, another song in this album that gives off movie/ story vibes. Then the beat kicks in and omg is it good.
My favorite part has to be the beat/ riff after the first chorus. It just draws me in and makes the song 10x better. If I could have a whole song with that beat I would be obsessed. Plus, the music video at that point makes it even cooler with the timelapse of him walking which I love in a music video.
The chorus itself is very influential in its message where you can really feel the lyrics and it is climactic, we love a climactic chorus and not just zen the whole way through. I also enjoy the don't blame me’s in the background as that further adds to the message. Even though in the music video he’s hurting a poor little Elmo.
Now the bridge is where it gets even better because it’s not a James Marriott song without an incredible and dramatic ending. His belting of these lyrics exhibits to you how much he’s gone through and you can really empathise with him.
The music/ beat in this song was extremely cool, definitely screams indie rock and not pixie; Spotify sort this out haha. Even though you can fit James’ music into a genre it’s still unique. I don't hear many songs/ artists that have that sound. It's a great thing to have your own sound as it can lead to legendary things.
I cannot wait for this album, it's going to change lives.
