Jamie T
Trick
Virgin

Inspired by the claustrophobia and darkness surrounding “a city in the hot summer”, Jamie Treays’ fourth album, the follow-up to 2014’s reflective and downbeat Carry on the Grudge, sees the anxiety-stricken Cockney troubadour in comparatively high spirits. “I’m better than I have been in the last six years,” admitted the 30-year-old singer-songwriter recently, and judging by Trick’s rollicking lead single, Tinfoil Boy, the eclectic Mr T has taken an energised step back towards his first two albums. From Tinfoil Boy’s Prodigy-crushing chorus to the grimey Drone Strike, on which he gives Dizzee Rascal a serious run for his money, Jamie T demonstrates he is still one of the most versatile artists in pop. But while he can seemingly ape just about anyone else at will (Power Over Men could quite easily be mistaken for an Arctic Monkeys noughties rocker), Treays still sounds very much his own man. Album highlight Tescoland may have a heavy Clash vibe to it, but by teaming the drama and edginess of the critically adored Carry on … with the lyrical brashness and wide-eyed wonderment of his Sheila era, this Trick proves to be a multitalented pony.