EP REVIEW: Native James – Confessions Of A Sinner

Across 13 tracks, split between full-bodied songs and interludes that make the whole project sound like a movie soundtrack, Native James has sharpened the grime-metal hybrid into his most defined sound yet. 

CONFESSIONS OF A SINNER is Native’s second project, arriving just over a year after the Rebirth EP. In that year, his sound has grown heavier with clear nu-metal influences from bands such as Korn, whilst keeping the raw grime energy that we know and love from previous releases.  

Kicking off the EP with RAISE THE ALARM, an interlude that begins eerie and atmospheric, featuring no vocals besides a few spoken words, before exploding into a heavy instrumental, preparing you for what’s to come. 

Launching straight into the EPs lead single, FALLEN.  A track Native describes as “Recognising the madness around me and the manic behaviours of the world.” A statement that perfectly translates to the chaos woven into this track. The first full-length song and we’ve already been introduced to a recurring theme throughout this EP: fry screams. 

FIRE PON DEM takes the title as the standout track; it proves that Native can balance combining multiple genres with ease. The chorus adds an infectious pull only to give way to the final 30 seconds of continuous screams, which mark some of Native’s heaviest work to date.  

Some projects may suffer from an overload of interludes; they can sometimes make you lose interest. Here, however, they do the opposite. They are being used to an advantage, making the EP feel complete and like a continuous story rather than just being thrown in to fill time. 

With a sound that feels like it was taken from a Native James x Korn collab album, YOU’RE NOTHING is destined to be a fan favourite. Unlike previous tracks that build up into something bigger, the second you press play on this one, it’s propelled by layered vocals and a commanding delivery. 

Ever so slightly slowing things down as we come towards the end of the EP, PRY AWAY is “addiction, demise, the dark side of someone that doesn’t want to crawl out of its hole.”  A much slower chorus than what we are used to, leaning into shoegaze-inspired sound with a potential nod to Loathe. 

Picking everything back up for GTA, the song to close out this whirlwind of an EP. It’s hard to say which one of these tracks is the heaviest, but GTA is a strong contender. With heavy guitar riffs combined again with Native’s screaming, also layered with the grime influences, this track is a mix of the whole EP in one song and the perfect way for CONFESSIONS OF A SINNER to end. 

I hope the release of this EP finally gives Native James the recognition he deserves. Kicking off his headline UK tour in just over a month, he is bound to ignite the crowds with these new tracks easily. Creating such a unique sound that very few are currently exploring, it feels inevitable that we will see Native James on more festival lineups next year.  

CONFESSIONS OF A SINNER is now available for streaming on all platforms.