James Walker - Great Deceiver (2020)

James Walker returns after three years with an evocative, spacious, and ethereal alt-pop record entitled Great Deceiver.

In winter 2017, James released his introspective and affecting debut, English Bones, which (to James’ surprise) went on to receive stellar reviews in The Huffington Post, Overblown Magazine and Punktastic, over 10,000,000 global streams, as well as international radio play on BBC, 3FM, WRAL and more.

There was some pressure, then, for James to return with something special, and on Great Deceiver he hopes to introduce you to a more developed, polished, and mature version of himself and his sound. The album is a “reflection on what it is to be in a relationship with longing, on dealing with issues of attachment and entanglement, on queerness and overcoming shame, on coping with loss and grief, and on finding strength within our faults.”

In his own words, James has “lived many lives in the years that have passed between [English Bones] and now. I’ve moved from my parents house to Austria twice over, I’ve fallen loudly in and out of love, I’ve wrestled with the idea of who I am and my place in the world, fully recovered from open-hear surgery and questioned mortality, I’ve lost some very close family members, and I’ve played hundreds of shows in a dozen countries. It’s been a very intense period of work, and whilst I’ve been very close to burnt-out, I am incredibly grateful to have been afforded these opportunities.”

Walker began writing Great Deceiver in 2017, and funded the initial tracking of the record with a Kickstarter project back in January 2019. James co-created the record with Sam Winfield at Studio 91 (Amber Run, BMTH, Fickle Friends).

An important step in making this record was co-writing with other artists. James was luckily enough to have written with Richard Walters (who has previously written for Declan J Donovan and 3LAU, as well as having his own music featured in Grey’s Anatomy and CSI), Judy Blank (who is James’ very close friend, and fast rising artist from The Netherlands, who has previously collaborated with Mandolin Orange, The Wood Brothers and Fences), Youri Lentjes, Josephine Zwaan, Matt Phillips, and The Brazen Youth.

Within Great Deceiver are traditional tales of heartbreak (The Conversation - ‘If we’re being honest/Were we fractured from the start?/You gave me what I wanted/While I loved you with half a heart’), sharing a hotel room with someone who just might kill you (Albion - ‘In your company I feel uneasy/With your cold shoulder, fever dreaming…/Like I would wake up murdered/Well, I wouldn’t wake up really.’), to reclaiming a sense of self after a toxic relationship (Chasing - ‘My telephone is ringing, but I ain’t picking up/You told me to wait for you, but when you dropped me you lost my love/Now you’re trying twice as hard, regretting what you’ve done/But when the best you can give ain’t nothing but a front/I guess it’s time to run.’)

James aims to present a multifaceted and expansive record that brings the listener on an emotional journey with him. Whilst these songs are personal in nature, he hopes that there is a relatability in his storytelling that allows you to take these songs with you into your life.

James Walker’s Great Deceiver is out November 20th via Kobalt/AWAL, Maximal Music Sync, Music Table Korea, Wild Native and Round Hill Music. James will be touring extensively in 2021, should the world allow him to, and is currently in the studio working on his next releases.