15 November 2013 - 0 Comments

SAINT will be released both online and in-store 
Friday 22nd November 2013. 

If you think you know James Reid, think again. As the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for The Feelers, Reid has already established himself as one of New Zealand’s most successful musicians. He and the band have sold more albums in New Zealand than any other New Zealand band.  But, as his debut solo album, Saint, reveals, there’s more to the James Reid story.

Saint finds Reid stepping up and out with 11 songs that are uniquely his own.

Recorded in his home, with help from co-producer Nic Manders, James takes on the lion’s share of the instrumental duties, with Manders adding keyboards and string arrangements.

Feelers fans will recognize the melodic musicality of the songs that has been a touchstone of the band’s five albums. But Saint shows off a more personal, intimate side to James Reid.

“Youth and growing up seems to be a running theme through this record”, explains Reid, “coming of age, having to be strong and take the knocks”.

Opening track, More Than I Was, is a prime example. Reid generates a big sound in his small room the anthemic tune builds and the strings swell. “What defines you now?” he asks. “The stories of our past can be quite forgotten”. Elsewhere, the meditative Raised By Wolves is driven by a simple acoustic guitar and James’ heartfelt lyric. “Let it go, let it fly. Leave this troubled world behind”. Toward the end of Saint, Reid explores some darker territory Little Known Facts is “another view on the world and how people treat each other, the things they make others do not really caring about the other person’s feelings”. The albums wraps up with the upbeat Half Way Through “A happy ditty…drinking some wine and hanging out”.

Saint reveals James Reid to be a mature, thoughtful songwriter, a man with the musical skills and the talent to articulate his feelings and his insights and communicate them in a way that will remain with the listener long after the last notes have drifted away.

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