Kelly Jamieson warns you not to get burned on his fiery, trippy new single and video Too Close To The Sun — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
The title track and latest highlight of the Ontario singer-songwriter’s outstanding third album, Too Close To The Sun is a raucous, rollicking roots-rocker reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty — if they had dropped acid and started a psychedelic surf-rock blues band in their garage during the Summer Of Love. Fortified by the dependable thwack of a no-frills backbeat and a down-low bassline groove, the track finds Jamieson decorating a growling low-neck guitar lick with plenty of freewheeling fretboard curlicues — and topping the whole sizzling shebang with his gruff everyman vocals and unflinchingly cautionary lyrics, written about a friend who was living life dangerously fast and hard:
“The page is turned, the candles burned
All that’s left are these lessons learned
You should’ve read between the lines
The clues were there all the time
You played the fool just for fun
Now you’re standing too close to the Sun.”
Not bad for a guy who considers himself a late bloomer as a singer-songwriter, and didn’t release his debut album until 2015. Since then, however, Jamieson has fully dedicated himself to the craft, and has slowly but consistently been building an impressive body of work that ranges from deftly executed heartland rock to lush balladry.
Jamieson displays that diversity once again on the Too Close To The Sun LP, made in collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Craig Smith, who also helmed his 2020 album Pure Gold. Work on the album commenced in early 2022 at Smith’s studio in Collingwood, with a crew that included drummer John Hall and contributions from Austin keyboardist Jay Stiles. Jamieson credits Smith for having an overall vision for the record, while simultaneously not imposing any creative restrictions.
“The entire recording process was a super-fun experience,” Jamieson says. “I brought around 20 songs to go through. I tend to write in all different styles, so with Craig we played through the tunes. We were able to put together seven that seemed to fit well together and we worked to create the sonic footprint that would serve the songs best.”
Like the title track, most of those songs were inspired by the personal stories of people in Jamieson’s life. The psychedelic-tinged Sky was written as a positive message to Jamieson’s first niece upon her arrival on the planet. Other tracks such as When The River Turns To Dust and Heroes offer stadium-level roots-rock in the tradition of Petty and Drive-By Truckers.
“My songwriting journey is still relatively new,” Jamieson admits, “but with the experience I’ve gained over the past 10 years, I am finding it easier to be more open and honest in my writing, and to craft the songs in a way to make a strong connection with the listener. I believe that good songs will come along in time if you just keep writing. My songwriting heroes are all master storytellers who can make you feel as if you’re standing inside the song. Aside from that, they can all deliver a beautiful finger picked ballad or a tearjerker, while banging out a rocker on the next track. I hope my work reflects that kind of versatility.”
Watch the video for Too Close To The Sun above and hear the rest of the album below.
