Jem Mitchell – Sweet Amphetamine

The Last Mixed Tape reviews Sweet Amphetamine, the new five-track E.P. from singer-songwriter Jem Mitchell. 

In Sweet Amphetamine Jem Mitchell takes the listener into a grizzled journey into his past. Although tracks such as ‘Fragile Heart’ and ‘Black Hair Blue Eyed Girl’ are emotionally raw, the song’s do keep the sweetness of the music in tact, helping the E.P. have a pointed but sonically softer overall sound.

Indeed, Sweet Amphetamine comes to a suitably tranquil close with the Rolling Stones circa Sticky Fingers (Richards/Taylor-esque) alternative-country drawl of ‘P’s Theme’, which leaves the E.P. end on a high (albeit introspective) note.

In between the sharp twang of country styled guitar and Mitchell’s warm toned voice it becomes clear that Sweet Amphetamine is an E.P. made at the aftermath of something. The record aches with the world-weariness of past experience and laments with fragility, looking constantly to these moments with hazy truth.

While Sweet Amphetamine is not a “game-changing” E.P. by any means, it is a deeply personal journey of catharsis that is well written and ultimately set apart by Jem Mitchell’s road-worn, yet beautifully set, voice. An honest, down to the bone record.

Rating: 8/10

Sweet Amphetamine by Jem Mitchell is out now.