The Middle East presents:
James Marriott

Having scored a Top 20 hit with his debut album ‘Are We There Yet?’, Brighton's James Marriott looks poised to
achieve a whole lot more as he prepares to release his second album, ‘Don’t Tell The Dog’ later this year. After its first
single, ‘I Don’t Want To Live Like This’, went straight to #1 on the Official Singles Downloads Chart, James now shares
the follow-up ‘Toothache’ along with its official video.

‘Toothache’ is the song that best straddles the stylistic difference between James’s indie-rock debut and the more
playful indie-pop leanings of his new record. Its stop-start dynamics deliver a midwest emo meets grunge vibe with an
immediately addictive hook which concludes on a soaring, anthemic high. It’s a song which feels as if it should be a
metaphor for emotional pain, but is surprisingly grounded in a literal reality.
James says, “‘Toothache’ is probably the most damning song I’ve written about myself. It talks pretty openly about how
I didn’t deal with a dental hygiene problem I had for multiple years. My lack of desire to do anything about it and my
apathy towards pain were a result of things that happened to me in childhood.”
James wrote and produced ‘Toothache’ with live guitarist Jono Suter and Finnish duo Aleksi Kiiskinen and Eeli
Savloainen. It also features writing credits for his band members Louis Salanson (guitar), Samuel Horsley (bass) and
Matt Gavin (guitar).
While the song’s concept is a serious take on deep rooted issues, the video instead plays like a black comedy. James
finally decides to address the issue by visiting a £1 dentist - and while the dentist is very very cheap, he’s not very good.
By the time he has swung a hammer and pointed a gun at James’s head, this dentist is clearly less of a saviour from
pain and more the type of character who inspires life-long dentophobia. The video was directed and edited by Orr
Piamenta, also known as the YouTuber Pinely.

James’s live shows achieve a rare cathartic communion between the artist and his ever-expanding following. Although
he has completed fewer than 100 shows so far, he has already played The Royal Albert Hall with Jake Bugg, stormed
the Reading and Leeds Festivals, and sold-out his biggest headline show to date at KOKO. Next month will see James
play his sold-out debut North American tour, while his UK festival schedule is taking shape with the Neighbourhood
Weekender, Live At Leeds In The Park and TRNSMT already confirmed.