ALBUM REVIEW: Jamie Webster- 'We Get By'

Jamie Webster is a name that has become synonymous with the terraces of Anfield with his piercing anthems blasted through the streets of Liverpool on Matchday and his rendition of ‘Allez-Allez-Allez’ now a Reds phenomenon.

Recorded at the renowned Parr Street Studios, ‘We Get By’ is Jamie Webster’s long-awaited, supercharged debut full-length.

‘Down The Road’ is a surefire hit with a guitar pop sheen and ‘Living For Yesterday’ whips up an incisive, truthful dialogue about the tribulations of the labouring class, as Webster exhales chants like: “Spare a thought for the working man, has he got a say?”

‘Out On The Street’ is a ruminating six-string bop about the toils of the downtrodden, ‘Change’ has a hopeful dreaminess about it, and ‘Stop Living Blind’ urges the reworking of modern politics. ‘The Joker’ generates notions of pints down the pub, and ‘Somethings Gotta Give’ is Webster’s variant of Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’.

“My City, my people, my heart” bellows Webster on the resounding ‘This Place’, moulding a palpable affection for his hometown. ‘Grinding The Gears’ captures Jamie’s optimistic outlook on life as he sings about “seizing the day” and ‘Common People’ takes on a nostalgic pop semblance.

‘Weekend In Paradise’ is a cautionary tale of weekend benders carried by the archetypal kick-drum that was present on Webster’s iconic football anthems, and the album’s title track is an apt ending to a record glazed with vibrancy and honesty.