Every Sunday, NEPA Creative turns the spotlight on some awesome creatives. This week, we have James Barrett!
James is a singer-songwriter from Scranton. After releasing his debut LP The Price of Comfort, he moved onto his next planning phase. In October 2019, his album A Series of…Mostly Nothing began to take shape. Described as his most realized work yet and a love letter to the hushed splendor of The National and the spaced-out bombast of Angels & Airwaves, A Series of…Mostly Nothing could’ve easily imploded from the unpredictable year in 2020. As studio time became unfeasible, it became difficult to finish the album in peace. However, that wouldn’t stop James from releasing it. Heand his longtime producer Jake Checkoway brought in an ensemble cast to flesh out the experience, piecing together drum tracks that were recorded in L.A. and sessions taken from a tiny house transformed into a creative epicenter.
Barrett’s James’ stadium rock M.O. bleeds through most of the runtime, from the ironclad hook surging through “Love Song in 2020” and the urgent catharsis propelling “The Art of Letting Go.” Softer reflections, such as the piano-centric “Yellow Paint” and “U-Haul” balance out the album’s rockist posture. Overall, A Series of…Mostly Nothing finds time to include reprise while circling around themes of heartbreak, isolation, and memory. “Emotionally, it’s all over the place” James says.
At a young age, music spoke to James. His father played guitar and his older brother played the drums, but it wasn’t until third grade when James began taking bass lessons. Not even a year later, James started teaching himself how to play guitar. In sixth grade, he started to write his own songs, but they were “really bad for a long time,” he jokes. James finds that other creative people and helping others through his endeavors inspire him the most.
When it comes to his creative process, James jokes that he is all over the place. He takes long gaps in between writing until his creativity finally explodes, allowing him to take full advantage of his creative insight. Those sessions don’t go to waste. James focuses on those songs for about two years until he starts the process over again. You can find James Barrett on social media and you can stream his new album, A Series of…Mostly Nothing on all major platforms on September 24th, 2021.
✍️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jamesbarrettmusic
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbarrettmusic/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamesbarrettpa
🎵 Refresh Recs: https://www.refreshrecs.com/artists/james-barrett
