‘Naive’, Kris James’ latest track, is the musical equivalent of a nonchalant shrug. It’s a song about overcoming a toxic relationship, and walking away with not only your dignity intact, but with the ability to laugh off your past mistakes and move on.
It’s a remarkably mature song from the man who has been growing stronger with each of his solo releases. Beginning with debut single ‘Eyes Open’, Kris slowly and steadily moved towards the fun and funky ‘Get Back to Love’ before gearing up to release ‘Naive’. Here, he shows off his developing talents as a songwriter, taking current trends in music and moulding and crafting them to fit his one, singular vision.
Kris James’ tale is that of a fierce musical talent finding his way to the light, a backwards journey from pop stardom towards authenticity as, in gearing up to his debut solo record, he found himself growing as a songwriter and performer. ‘Naive’ is the perfect song to tell this story. “Guess I was naive / didn’t spot the trouble / Now, hey, I’m fine on my own,” sings James with a self-assurance we should all aspire to, owning up to his past mistakes with a shrug, and no more than a fleeting backwards glance. The exuberant instrumentation and Kris’ ever-expressive vocal performance really highlights the newfound confidence and carefree attitude which Kris James is now sporting.
Self-penned by Kris James himself alongside his co-writer Stewart Boyle, the track was written in James’ hometown of Liverpool and recorded in London at The Cabin in Tileyard. The lyrics truly represent a maturation of James’ sound, showing him to be something of a chameleon when it comes to reinventing himself again and again. Of the track, James himself says that the song is about being in a toxic situation where you don’t realise how badly the other person is treating you until you remove yourself from the situation. “This is a song for all the survivors out there who end up having the last laugh,” says James, “it’s a song about overcoming adversity!”
The positive vibes of this song might be exactly what we need right now, with the world in crisis and most of us in lockdown. Kris James has shown that it sometimes takes negative experiences to prove to ourselves what we are made of, and nowhere is this more apparent, summer-y or fun, than on ‘Naive’.
Naive is out now! You can download or stream it by clicking this link: https://show.co/5aME0Rd