James The Fifth
Under The Radar Magazine // “Dizzying psych pop”
LA Record // “Pop primal-scream-era Lennon,” “Jiggly-as-Jello funky new wave”
Merry Go Round // “Chirpy psychedelic rock that toes the line between surrealism and playfulness”
DIY Mag // “‘Blondie’ is his latest weird and wonderful output and it’s gonna leave you wanting more”
KXLU // “Candid, yet tastefully composed”
Tearjerk Records // “James The Fifth’s debut record Days Of Wine is an ultra sweet collaboration of art pop, psych rock and funk, with no shortage of feel-good pop sensibilities.”
James The Fifth is the psych rock/art pop project of LA-based musician James Thomer. Noting late 70s/early 80s art rock, his songs are full of frenetic, inventive guitar-work and analog synthesizers, often recalling Roxy Music, Talking Heads, or Brian Eno.
James is no stranger to blurring the worlds of music and comedy, with self directed music videos featuring talents such as LA comedian Brent Weinbach and the viral “Austin Powers Impersonator”, while sharing DIY bills with Reggie Watts. In James The Fifth, music videos are never just music videos... they’re an opportunity to indulge in his playful and goofy comedic tendencies -- like in "Blondie", which features a Craigslist-hired professional dancer as an uncanny body double, or "Love Life" in which his guitar-playing hand is inexplicably stabbed by a green room drifter moments before taking the stage.
His funky full-length art-pop psych-rock debut Days Of Wine is out now on Tearjerk Records (Aus) and Mutation Records (US), following the release of his 2017 debut EP San Narciso, mixed with Grammy-award winning producer John Congleton (St Vincent, Angel Olsen).
James is no stranger to blurring the worlds of music and comedy, with self directed music videos featuring talents such as LA comedian Brent Weinbach and the viral “Austin Powers Impersonator”, while sharing DIY bills with Reggie Watts. In James The Fifth, music videos are never just music videos... they’re an opportunity to indulge in his playful and goofy comedic tendencies -- like in "Blondie", which features a Craigslist-hired professional dancer as an uncanny body double, or "Love Life" in which his guitar-playing hand is inexplicably stabbed by a green room drifter moments before taking the stage.
His funky full-length art-pop psych-rock debut Days Of Wine is out now on Tearjerk Records (Aus) and Mutation Records (US), following the release of his 2017 debut EP San Narciso, mixed with Grammy-award winning producer John Congleton (St Vincent, Angel Olsen).
Releases
Videos
Sign of the Times (2022)
Love Life (2021)
Blondie (2019)
Tired of Woman (2017)
Love Life (2021)
Blondie (2019)
Tired of Woman (2017)
Santa’s Chemtrails (2021)
Pure Imagination (2021)
Television (2018)
Pure Imagination (2021)
Television (2018)