After the idyllic charm of last year's debut single "All Packed Up / Don't Drink The Water" Idiot Glee returns with his first album Paddywhack released on May 16th on Moshi Moshi.

22-year-old James Friley trades in spectral transmissions: multi-layered vocal concoctions that sound like they are emitted from a radio in the past, or coming over an unknown satellite frequency from the future, telling stories about a more idyllic time.

Mining an emotional territory between nostalgia and powerful sense of childlike wonder, his rustic arrangements belie a sophisticated sense of melody surrounded by palpable magic and mystery. Hypnotic looped vocal samples come into full bloom around beautifully cathartic, slow-burning choral interpretations, all the while retaining a graceful fragility.


Having trained as a classical pianist from age 7, a teenage Friley found the designated hours of practice quickly gave way to writing and improvising his own solo piano compositions. Having more of a pop sensibility the songs didn't fit the repertoire of budding rock band 'Bedtime' and hence Idiot Glee began to take shape.



The discovery on cassette of Pet Sounds in a flea market in 2008 proved a pivotal point. "I listened to it probably 100 times over the span of a year" he says and it became the catalyst in making Idiot Glee a full time hobby.