Moshi Moshi are well known for putting out great music created by great bands. Their singles label reached trendsetter status a long time ago, and their album catalog is equally strong. This release from James Yuill, entitled ‘Turning Down Water For Air’ goes a long way to re-enforce the previous statement, itself containing 12 tracks of heartfelt electronica that is very easily accessible and produced to an incredibly high standard.

Think of James Yuill as a traditional songwriter in the mould of Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), when he was working with Jimmy Tamborello in his side escapade, The Postal Service. However, to just cast Mr Yuill off as a clone would be to bypass many of the positives of ‘Turning Down Water For Air’. In songs like ‘No Pins Allowed’, James manages to create something of a club banger, sounding more like late 90s house then anything else. Rewound claps pair off with a sledgehammer bass drum, while dirty bass lines fight toe to toe with delicate guitar work. It’s a track containing many contrasts, but it all works perfectly. The junky guitar and heavy delays that flutter through ‘Head Over Heels’ add a strong sense of the melancholy, but the lyrics sound optimistic, the confidence of the main hook overpowering any sense that this is a sad or otherwise depressing track. Again, the contrasts are there, but its all packaged together so well that it isn’t really noticeable.

The production on this album is of the highest order. Each element in every single track has clearly been thought about in detail, and placed in the musical jigsaw in such a way as that it fits perfectly. Everything is well balanced, in each of the 12 songs there is nothing that commands your attention as much as the piece as a whole. That’s not to say that this album is without any negatives. At times, James’ voice can come across as a bit bland, the vocal melodies doing nothing to show off his range or talent. Some of the lyrics as well feel a bit forced together for the sake of rhyme alone. ‘The Ghost’ is a good example of this, with the lines ‘when will I see my children lying in my arms, and hear the sound of echoes echoing my charms?’ sounding clunky and overwrought. Another criticism is that the music sometimes relies a bit too much on the floor filling dance beat rather then focusing on the other strengths in the music. ‘She Said In Jest’ is a beautiful track, but after a while the four-to-the-floor grates a bit. Maybe an acoustic version in the future will do that particular song more favours.

All in all, ‘Turning Down Water For Air’ is a strong showcase of James Yuill’s individual talents. After doing remixes for just about everyone, James has stepped out into the limelight and given us an album of soulful electro-acoustic humbuggery, a prominently American genre delivered with a British twist.

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James Yuill On Myspace