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Nobody likes to boast but, well, y'know...thanks to all those who contribute below.
Single review in the NME for Tomorrows World, Today EP  Single of the week in The Guardian Guide for Through industry to the stars EP "A glorious slice of jangly post-Britpop happiness to make the most grumpy soul want to run down those autumnal streets kicking up leaves. Coming from that great Cocker/Weller/Morrissey tradition of kitchen sink dramas set to fantastic tunes, you have the sneaking feeling that Muir's not being entirely frank when he sings "sometimes London is beautiful". But much like when the Cure take it into their heads to peek out from under their black duvet, the JMS sweep you along with their joyously Pulp-y pop, the sugar rush balanced here by the wonderfully gloomy B-sides inspired by Muir's day job as an A&E doctor."[Link & Review JPG] Record Collector Single of the Month for Popular Art:As Equations EP “He's armed with a sackful of thought-provoking slogans and plays like a humbler 21st Century Scott Walker. The second EP in a trilogy of releases intertwines art, dogma and visions of a jaded nation… Positively great.” [Review JPG] “These EPs are fabulous slices of ART. Real creations, crafted out of the whole cloth. Life filtered, coloured and given back to us to consider.” August 2005, Vanguard Online Reviews of Tomorrow's World, Today EP: “Once again Jim and the gang serve up something immaculately dressed, deftly executed ... and a delight to hear, absorb and recommend.” Sheffield Star “Gorgeous … this is conviction and class in the rock context, hold it close and play it proud n loud.” Unpeeled Magazine “A masterclass in shimmering melancholy.” National Student Magazine Online “An artist who deserves recognition.” 8/10 Atomicduster “A starkly acoustic, warmly haunting and thought provoking slab of psychedelic tinged folk music. It seems the therapy is working.” Sheffield Telegraph “One of the UK’s great hidden secrets … their most cohesive and gloriously refined (release) to date … Buy on sight even if only to give your record collection some much needed class.” LOSING TODAY “Demonstrating how traditional guitar bands can still be interesting and challenging … an eclectic mix that evokes the spirit of The Beatles' 'White Album' and American left-field act, Wilco, at their most tuneful on the fuzzy bliss of their masterpiece 'Summerteeth.' Nick Quantrill, Sandman Magazine “A survivor of the wreckage of one of the most criminally overlooked bands of recent times, Action Spectacular, Jim Muir now set about make life even more difficult for himself by juggling a solo music career and training to be a doctor. He seems to being handling it well though, two EPs have already found critical acclaim and this one looks set to do exactly the same. The basis of these four songs about love is an acoustic guitar and a voice. Many people will tell you this is what all great songs should be ... (&) it certainly works with these." **** Indigo Flow "... an absolute gem." thisisull.com June 2005 “Delightful, intelligent, melancholy and beautiful, Muir is clearly operating, as the hip-hoppers say, “on some other shit”. Despite its shifting rhythms and surfeit of ideas, the five tracks hereon are all equally lovely, with the hymnal ‘Whatever Love Means’ bagging the winner’s medal.” NME (For full reviews & additional press coverage of Tomorrow's World please CLICK HERE). --------------------------------------------------------------- Reviews of Popular Art/As Equations EP: “He's armed with a sackful of thought-provoking slogans and plays like a humbler 21st Century Scott Walker. The second EP in a trilogy of releases intertwines art, dogma and visions of a jaded nation… Positively great.” RECORD COLLECTOR, Single Of The Month [Review JPG] “Popular Art/As Equations, is a beautiful four-part lament for the post-chemical generation.” Ally Fogg, THE METRO [Review JPG] “Intelligence and truly great songs are not often found together, but JMS can claim their place alongside the Nick’s Cave & Drake and The Broken Family Band as genuinely truthful and painfully observant writers.” UNPEELED MAGAZINE “It’s all beautiful bitter-sweet stuff.” SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH “In all honesty one of the best things we’ve heard in such a long while… this neat little four track EP shapes up to being something exceptional and dare we say it, special… Utterly unpretentious and without the usual bluster and column mileage that most bands seem to arrive pre packed with these days, the hype less Jim Muir Slideshow you feel just get on with it hoping to snag you with their off centre reminiscences and longing shimmer… (The) JMS slowly unravel with ageless glee, their all too apparent tenderness kindled by a sweet bitterness and a wholesome soft centre that once tasted seems to hook you like an illicit addiction.” LOSING TODAY, Single of the Missive “ … smart- social- commentary –set- to- smarter- pop … the usual comparisons to Belle and Sebastian seem wide of the mark and somewhat lazy. This is altogether more gritty and, well, down. Imagine handing Arab Strap a jolly chord progression and a more singy voice, but keeping their lyric, and you’re halfway there.” SOUNDS XP “Jim Muir continues that brand of well-made, intelligent pop... This collection of four songs are a master class in great song writing… They're sweeping, epic, ambitious, but without pretension, and full of insightful lyrics about everything from drugs to relationships.” SANDMAN MAGAZINE “… a fantastic listen. …Excellent.” JOYZINE “… Jim Muir is unquestionably a very talented artist... (Popular Art/As Equations) gives its listeners the chance to feel the sweet melancholia of pop music again… extremely special.” GLASSWERK “4.5/5” IS THIS MUSIC? “...Jim Muir is a lovely fluffy kitten, and this cuddly ep only shows why. Amid a gargle of synthesisers, Muir seems to be cut from the same cloth as Tim Closs and Tears In X-Ray Eyes … This is particularly shown on the charmingly coy – and wonderfully titled – ‘I Don’t Want To Be a Man’ which gives you some of the same shivers that much of the new Milky Wimpshake album does – but in a much different way, of course! As shy as sheep. But all the better for it.” TASTY FANZINE “Packed with clever lyrics and slogans, throughout the four tracks Jim and co. intelligently comment on the fabric of today’s society… (This is) honest and poignant song writing." GIGWISE.COM " … another slice of thoroughly listenable guitar pop… It’s the balance between guitar and electronica and clear gift for melody that once again keeps you interested... The Jim Muir Slideshow have got their equations right here." SHEFFIELDBASE (For full reviews & additional press coverage of Popular Art' please CLICK HERE). --------------------------------------------------------------- Reviews of Through Industry To The Stars EP: "A lovely track"- Steve Lamacq on "This is London." "A glorious slice of jangly post-Britpop happiness to make the most grumpy soul want to run down those autumnal streets kicking up leaves. Coming from that great Cocker/Weller/Morrissey tradition of kitchen sink dramas set to fantastic tunes, you have the sneaking feeling that Muir's not being entirely frank when he sings "sometimes London is beautiful". But much like when the Cure take it into their heads to peek out from under their black duvet, the JMS sweep you along with their joyously Pulp-y pop, the sugar rush balanced here by the wonderfully gloomy B-sides inspired by Muir's day job as an A&E doctor." THE GUARDIAN, "This Is London," Track of the Week [Link & Review JPG] "The Jim Muir Slideshow take you on an 18-minute dream of pop tranquillity. Like a somewhat less naďve Belle & Sebastian wanting to experiment with technology or a more psychedelic Kings of Convenience" Jordi Meya, ROCK SOUND "One of the year's best EPs... among the most glorious 18 minutes of music to come our way in 2004... the ryhthm of the Thrills with the lyrics of an old softie... an EP easy on the ear and generous on the soul." THE STAR, SHEFFIELD "This is London is the highpoint but it's pushed all the way by The Ballad of Sharon & Tracey which I'm sure they won't mind me saying, wouldn't look out of place on a Belle & Sebastian album. If this is a taste of what's to come I want more" EXPOSED MAGAZINE "It's heartbreakingly mournful music but as with all stuff at the blue (if not bluesy) end of the emotional spectrum it's as uplifting as it is downcast. It tugs away at the parts too much music fails to locate. Keep yer eye on them this year." SANDMAN MAGAZINE "Jim has lost none of his talent for melody and words" SHEFFIELD TELEGRAPH “… And with the fading of the Light”, is "a beautifully slow burning ode to life passing you by ... Jim’s knack of blending electronic sounds and gentle acoustic guitars really comes to the fore. If the band persist with the winning combination of marketing and melody then the NHS may have to give up hope of getting Dr Muir back." SHEFFIELDBASE "...This is London is a warm slice of melodic indie-pop with the sort of tragic twist one might expect from a Belle & Sebastian record... I eagerly anticipate their debut L.P." STAINLESS, THE STEEL PRESS (Sheffield University Paper) --------------------------------------------------------------- Live: (Live @ Trippetts, Sheffield 15/01/05) "Sheffield’s best bands have generally been sharp-as-tacks, proudly-unlovable slivers of cool; icy monuments to the city that carved them. But while Jim Muir’s lyrical preoccupation with the darker twists and turns of the city are familiarly Sheffield, the most revolutionary thing about this special two set gig was the way the songs managed to find the light at the end of the tunnel, even if only briefly glimpsed from the back seat. With a band able to deliver the light and shade in Jim’s stories, the highlight was ‘The Ballad of Sharon and Tracey’, which saw an almost whispered paean to a lost soul transform into a sustained, cracked stab of drums that took over where the words failed. Taken alongside ‘This Is London’s simultaneously joyous/exhausted chorus, this friendly and powerful show confirms them as a band with huge potential." EXPOSED MAGAZINE, Feb 2005 --------------------------------------------------------------- General: "Only very occasionally is truth stranger then fiction. When Jim Muir saw the cast of Channel 4's hospital comedy Green Wing capering about in their pristine whites, he shook his head. Muir and Slideshow keyboardist Paul Galpin didn't witness much surrealist frippery when they were medical students-just one hundred hour weeks, countless personal tragedies and a severe lack of sunlight. "The first year was awful. We worked like dogs and were exposed to some pretty horrific things," shivers Muir. "It was like a car crash." The situation couldn't have been more different a few months previously, when Muir and Galpin were shooting the breeze with Ian Brown and Oasis at the Reading festival after charming the crowd with their then band Action Spectacular. However, prior to the release of their 2001 LP, From Here On In It's A Riot, their label ceased trading and the pair worked off their debts as junior doctors. The Jim Muir Slideshow began as a series of wistful musings on those months of overworked, fluorescent-lit hell. Lovingly presented with a set of postcards, debut EP Through Industry to the Stars is the first of three collectable releases from the four piece. "Action Spectacular was very much us pretending to be indie pop stars and the Slideshow is about recovery," Muir says. "I started writing again purely to make sense of that traumatic situation and it's a happy coincidence that other people seem to like it and find it helpful too." METRO Scotland |