ATO RECORDS
Steve Harnell
Jim James turns the political concerns of 2016’s Eternally Even to societal ones here – Uniform Distortion is influenced by his worries that technology has robbed us of our humanity. But far from being brow-furrowingly serious, this is often a whole heap of fun. Opener Just A Fool rumbles in with a squalling Jack White-style bluesy guitar riff and a knowing shrug of the shoulders at life’s troubles. The punsome You Get To Rome is a rollicking glam stomper, and there’s a melodic nod to Dreams on the Fleetwood Mac-esque No Secrets, which also boasts a cavernous solo Neil Young would be proud of… All In Your Head boasts a similarly Crazy Horse-style rumble. James tries on punkish power-pop for size to great effect on Yes To Everything, and the perky Better Late Than Never is a two-minute breezy delight. Far from being pained, mostly, James sounds uniformly chipper.
VERDICT 8/10