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"Love James Combs. He's one of those singer/songwriter/musicians who should have spent his entire career at the top of the charts." PENELOPE SPHEERIS, DIRECTOR, “THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION Pts 1, 2 & 3”, “WAYNE’S WORLD”
“An incredible addition to any Americana library.” NO DEPRESSION
James Combs is a singer-songwriter described by LA Weekly as "one of folk-pop's best-kept secrets" and by New Band of the Day, an even higher authority, as the missing link between Low and John Lennon, but these are no stripped-down, bare-bones confessionals rendered on a dusty acoustic. Imagine the moody melodies and sepulchral atmospheres of the former and the plain-speaking lyrics of the latter. Oh, and a voice that quivers like the world's biggest nerve ending. And you should hear him sing. If you like Liam Finn, the son of Crowded House's Neil, and his introspective but accessible debut album, or if you miss Elliott Smith and found his musings tortuously overwrought (in a good way), then you'll love Combs's literate, lightly lacerating guitar-pop. It's a bit Beck, a bit Beatles, a bit Hunky Dory Bowie, and it sounds more like a band than a lonesome troubadour singing his heart out, with rich textures and dense layers, psychedelic touches and production filigree, to garnish these tales of love gone wrong… PAUL LESTER, THE GUARDIAN
“James Combs makes Americana music for people who think they don’t like Americana Music… Falling Under Spells’ could become the most successful of Combs’s solo albums. To that fertile mix of folk, pop, twang, and psychedelia Combs brings his undoubted songwriting skills and his refusal to be contained musically by any narrow definition of genre… give ‘Falling Under Spells’ a listen, you won’t be disappointed.” AMERICANA UK
“Combs is as adept at introspective confessionals as he is sharpening his pen to play topical folk singer.” , BUZZBANDS.LA
“I love this song.” NIC HARCOURT 88.5FM LOS ANGELES
"James Combs delivered song after poignant song with self effacing charm, quickly becoming a favorite among the audience and songwriters that day." BRETT PERKINS, DIRECTOR, IDYLLWILD SONGSWRITERS FESTIVAL
“Joy Is Allowed,” LA songwriter James Combs reminds us, sharing vocal duties with Kelly Atkins on a beautifully titled new song that’s here to prove that The City of Angels Love-fueled knack for trumpet-enhanced gracefulness is still alive and thriving.” CAMILLA AISA, SHINDIG!
“Four Stars… Power folk is here to stay: his name is Combs, James Combs...” PARIS MOVE
“timeless, finely crafted, tuneful songs. James Combs is a musical force of nature who injects every song with genuine joy.” PAUL ZOLLO, AMERICAN SONGWRITER and SONGWRITERS ON SONGWRITING
WINNER - BEST AMERICANA GROUP (GREAT WILLOW) LA MUSIC CRITIC AWARDS
(Great Willow’s collaborative single with I See Hawks In LA) “Radio Keeps Me On The Ground” is soothing nerve tonic for those unsettled by the viral plague currently re-writing human reality. With an irresistable melody and close harmonies, the song is a powerful dose of communal hippie optimism that couldn’t be more welcome during one fuck of a hellish bummer. MICHAEL SIMMONS, MOJO, LA Weekly
One of folk pop’s best kept secrets - LA WEEKLY
“8.1 RATING. Fierce sensitivity…an urgent Roky Erickson vocal style… the certainty and confidence of an artist who’s grasped more than just three chords and a crude approximation of the truth. PITCHFORK