Hey, Ma - James

I was given just two choices of albums to review, as the 'good one had gone.'

I couldn't agree less. 'Hey I love James!' I said excitedly, and spent the rest of the day itching to get home and fill my head with that familiar pop sound.

I was looking forward to getting to sample it, and, as I'm sure most fans will agree, it's been a long enough wait. For this is their first studio album in seven years.

Even though many fans and critics thought the band had split, early 2007 showed members of James announcing their involvement - in less of a comeback but more of a continuation - as if they'd never been away.

And so it was that the Mancunian magnificent seven produced 'Hey, Ma.'

This is, in my eyes, and in the eyes of lead singer Tim Booth, the greatest James album. 

Many people may see this song as a political shout, with lyrics such as ‘Now the towers have fallen, so much dust in the air’, and ‘My God is bigger than your God’, almost certainly talking about religious wars, but singer Booth has said in the past he likes things with a weird edge.

The album has the perfect balance of sing-along anthems and deep lyrics, and ‘Hey, Ma’ is certainly the band at their best, not just reclaiming their former glory, but picking it up, throwing it away and saying ‘we’re better than that.’

This album truly is an accomplishment, not only for the band, but for music in general.

A line from the song 'Waterfall' states "My mirror's laughing at me, says boy are you getting old."

No you're not James. That couldn't be less true.