Don’t Think Twice
Tammy Payne – vocals
Jim Barr – bass
Dan Moore – hammond organ
Neil Smith - guitar
Dylan Howe – drums
1. I Put a Spell on You [Jalacy J Hawkins]
2. Henry Lee [Trad.]
3. River Deep Mountain High [Spector ,Barry, Greenwich]
4. Jolene [Dolly Parton]
5. I Want You [Elvis Costello]
6. Stranger Song [Leonard Cohen]
7. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right [Bob Dylan]
8. Summer Wine [Lee Hazelwood]
9. In the Port of Amsterdam [Jaques Brel]
10. 1000 Kisses Deep [Leonard Cohen]
Cat No: EDN1022 | UK Release Date: OUT NOW
REVIEWS:
Reviews so far:
“Tammy Payne has an evocative, soulful voice and a way of re-telling a story. Wonderfully skewed, stripped down and psychedelic”. MOJO ****
“Tammy Payne attempts to redefine the art of jazz vocals on a repertoire of well-known pop and folk songs in which her cool, dispassionate voice is set against the spiky guitar and Farfisa-organ contributions of a really outstanding quartet, with Portishead’s Jim Barr (who also produces) playing bass. On ‘River Deep Mountain High’ and Costello’s ‘I Want You’, it’s fantastic”. INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
”Undoubtedly the most purely enjoyable release of the year”. MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS****
Bristol singer Payne and her band of crack jazz-blues men bring startlingly original twists to songs by Dylan, Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen and others on this admirable debut”. DAILY MIRROR ****
“Tammy Payne has been one of the finest soul and jazz singers that the UK has produced in the two decades. This is a decidedly cultured piece of work from an artist whose talent has not been recognised. This should put her in a deservedly bigger spotlight”. BBC MUSIC ONLINE
‘Don’t Think Twice’ is the powerfully evocative debut album from Bristol-based vocalist, Tammy Payne, and her new project Tamco. Payne, who is probably best known for her work with legendary drum ‘n’ bass and trip-hop pioneers Smith and Mighty but can also be found writing psychedelic folk with Jukes or collaborating with the likes of John Parish has drawn upon her home town’s vibrant music scene to create a unique new band. Drawing on influences from Tom Waits to Nick Cave and Julie Driscol to Roberta Flack, Tamco was born out of late night whiskies and a shared love of ‘50s and ‘60s jazz. The band features some of Bristol’s most creative and innovative musicians, maverick bassist Jim Barr (Portishead, Get The Blessing), guitarist Neil Smith (Liftmen), keyboardist Dan Moore (Andy Shepperd) and drummer Dylan Howe (Nick Cave, Damon Albarn, Portishead and Robert Wyatt).
Don’t Think Twice is a collection of well-loved songs encompassing a multitude of genres. At first glance the songs appear disparate but look closer and a theme emerges, these are songs of jealousy, deceit and obsession all chosen by Payne for their emotional content. Songs that she and her band mates are able to inhabit and stylishly make their own, drawing on but never enthralled to their influences, to create a powerful work that’s inspirational in it’s own right. Recorded live in one room as the band were keen to capture ‘a moment rather than a process’. With no song requiring more than two or three takes the whole album took just three days to record. Any mistakes have been left in because, for Tamco, accuracy plays second fiddle to the emotion and chemistry of the moment.
That chemistry is present throughout the album. ‘Don’t Think Twice’ opens with a skuzzy, sleazy version of Screamin Jay Hawkins ‘I Put A Spell On You’, while album highlight ‘River Deep Mountain High’ is a grinding 5/4 tour de force that ends in a full-on jazz breakdown. ‘Jolene’ is a haunting plea that sets Parton’s great song free from it’s country roots and Dylan’s ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ receives a treatment a far cry from his bruised original. Payne’s deliciously nonchalant vocal delivery will have you believe that it genuinely is ‘all right’. The album closes with ‘1000 Kisses Deep’ (one of two Leonard Cohen compositions here) and which with it’s brooding rhythm and Payne’s haunting vocal encapsulates the overall mood and spirit of ‘Don’t Think Twice’ to perfection. Louche, hip and darkly brooding Tamco find new nuances and meanings in the familiar, drawing us into an alternate history of whisky-fused musical connections, late night bars and crackly old records and in their hands these songs have never sounded better.
