Jim Noir - Biography
By Marcus Kagler
If the native Mancunian indie rocker known as Jim Noir had come about 40 years ago he would have fit right in with the likes of Donovan, early Fairport Convention, and Sgt. Pepper’s era Beatles. The fact that Noir has developed an intricate and eccentric psychedelic folk rock sound highly dependent on late 60’s swinging London aesthetics doesn’t mean his music is so out-of-date it won’t apply to a modern audience however. Filled with subtle computerized effects and a lo-fi indie aesthetic, Noir’s sound is more like Donovan partying with R2-D2 than a 60’s rehash, with an added playful lyrical wit to the proceedings that’s far more 2008 than 1968. Granted, the Fab Four touched on all sorts lyrical silliness, from meter maids to psychedelic marching bands, but they never registered a UK hit with lines like, “If you don’t give my football back I’m gonna get my dad on you.” Born in 1982 as Alan Roberts in Davyhulme, England, the young Roberts began performing at talent shows by the time he was a teenager. After a crowd pleasing rendition of the 808 State song, “In Yer Face” performed with the band Batfinks during a local gig, a teenage Noir took to a music career in earnest and adopted the stage name, Jim Noir, as a playful homage to the surreal English comedian Vic Reeves, whose real name is Jim Moir. After signing to the small indie label My Dad Recordings in 2003, Noir generated a substantial buzz with three subsequent EP’s, Eanie Meany (2004 My Dad), My Patch (2005 My Dad), and A Quiet Man (2005 My Dad). Hoping to capture a fuller band oriented sound, Noir enlisted fellow Mancunian indie group The Beep Seals as his backing band for the full length debut, The Tower of Love (2006 My Dad), which featured a mixture of material from his previous EP’s and new songs. Noir enjoyed some moderate success within UK indie circles but shot to international notoriety after the song “Eanie Meany” and its catchy football imagery was used in an Adidas commercial during the 2006 World Cup. The subsequent single, “My Patch” also increased his profile when it was used in commercials for Ginsters markets. After signing to Barsuk Records in North America, Noir repeated his recipe for success on American shores when “My Patch” was also used in television commercials for Target stores during the 2007 holiday season. The sophomore self titled full length, Jim Noir (2008 Barsuk) largely picked up where its predecessor left off albeit with a slightly rawer garage oriented sound. Noir’s eccentric lyrical treatises on CD’s vs. vinyl and why certain songs get stuck in your head while others don’t, however, remained firmly in place.
