Jamie Lenman was the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Reuben before starting his solo career. I got introduced to Jamie through a Norwegian Radio Program where they played “Hell in a Fast Car” and I was sold! I started digging through his discography and found gold!  

From the early work with Reuben and through his career, it is clear that Lenman has a strong sense of “I just want to do what the fuck I want” related to music, and his debut that I worked my way to (started with Devolver) proves that in a big way. 

From the opening songs (The Six Fingered Hand and Fizzy Blood) that are hardcore as f..k to the complete opposite end of the scale – the ukulele-driven, soft, story-telling beautiful “Shotgun House”… 

Back in the 19th century
On southern US land
They built a simple kind of house
And many still do stand

The people call them shotgun house
From African to-gun
Just three or four rooms back-to-back
And I’ma get me one

Oh, when I get my shotgun house
You can visit all the time
I’ll go from back room to front porch
By walking a straight line

Yes, when I buy my shotgun house
That will be something fine
I’ll finally have a place I can call mine

And there is a great link from Shotgun House all the way to Devolver, where I started my listening spree. Shotgun House finishes off with the line “On the banks of the M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I” (each letter pronounced individually) and on Devolver you have the song “Mississippi” that finishes off with “M-I-double S-I-double S-I-P-P-I”…

Jamie Lenman – Mississippi lyrics:

When I rest my eyes, I see all these ghosts
The more I try to push them back, the more they crowd close
All those hurts I’ve caused, all those hurts I’ve known
But worst of all, the chances offered and chances blown

I can’t let go

Of all the fuckers that have done me wrong
Gonna get ’em back before long
I can’t let go
Of all the damage that I did my bro
Didn’t mean to treat him so
I can’t let go
Of all the people I will never be
Barriers in front of me
I can’t let go
Of all the things I wish I never did
Even back when I was just a kid
I can’t let go

When I lost my pa, when that moment come
I lumped those thoughts with all the rest in my cranium
I still feel that beat, I still hear those drums
And they thump on and on and on, ever closer

I can’t let go

Of how he looked when he got so thin
It seemed like I could see through him
I can’t let go
Of how I felt when I heard that breath
The second that I first saw death
I can’t let go
Of how another had to close his eyes
Jesus, I was paralyzed
I can’t let go
Of who he was and what he left behind
It’s always in the back of my mind
I can’t let go

M-I-double S-I-double S-I-P-P-I

Jamie Lenman background

Jamie Lenman is an English musician and illustrator born on November 9, 1982 in Camberley, Surrey, England. He was the lead singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for the British alternative rock trio Reuben from 2001 to 2008. After Reuben disbanded, Lenman focused on his career as an illustrator and began releasing and performing as a solo artist in 2013. He has released 6 studio albums as a solo artist. Lenman has also worked full-time as an illustrator for The Guardian from 2007 until 2014. He has contributed to Doctor Who Magazine under the pseudonym ‘Baxter’ and released a collection of his work so far for the magazine called ‘Whoah!’ in 2014. 

Lenman grew up in Camberley, Surrey, England with his mother and father. He learned to play piano, saxophone, and eventually guitar. He was introduced to Jon Pearce, who attended the same school as Lenman, by his guitar teacher in 1996. Pearce and Lenman were in various bands writing both their own material and playing covers of Nirvana and Green Day before eventually forming Angel with drummer Jason Wilson in 1998, which would eventually become the band Reuben. 

Lenman’s music is known for its diversity and experimentation with different genres such as alternative rock, hardcore punk, folk, jazz, and heavy metal. Hence the title – musical chameleon. 

Jamie Lenman – Complete Discography 

Here is a complete list of the music Jamie Lenman has released throughout his career. Please notify me if there are anything missing or wrong. 

Reuben Discography

• Albums
  • Racecar Is Racecar Backwards (2004)
  • Very Fast Very Dangerous (2005)
  • In Nothing We Trust (2007)
  • We Should Have Gone To University (2009) – Compilation 
• EPs
  • Pilot EP (2001)
  • The Return of… (2005)
• Singles
  • Scared of the Police (2002)
  • Stux (2003)
  • Freddy Kreuger (2003)
  • Let’s Stop Hanging Out (2003)
  • Stuck in My Throat (2003)
  • Moving to Blackwater (2004)
  • Blamethrower (2005)
  • A Kick in the Mouth (2005)
  • Keep It to Yourself (2006)
  • Every Time a Teenager Listens to Drum & Bass a Rockstar Dies (2006) split with Frank Turner
  • Blood Bunny Larkhall (2007)
  • Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin (2007)
  • Christmas Is Awesome (2007)
  • Cities on Fire (2008)
• Demos
  • Me Vs. You (1998) As ‘Angel’
  • Death of a Star (1999) As ‘Angel’
  • Betrayed Demo (1999) As ‘Angel’
  • Hand Over Fist (2000) As ‘Angel’

Jamie Lenman

• Albums
  • Muscle Memory (2013)
  • Devolver (2017)
  • Shuffle (2019)
  • King of Clubs (2021)
  • The Atheist (2022)
  • Muscle Memory Max (2023)
• EPs
  • Muscle (2013)
  • Extended Plays (2017)
  • Live at St Pancras Old Church (2018)
  • King of Clubs (Acoustic) (2021)
• Singles
  • Mongol Horde (2013)
  • Fizzy Blood (2013)
  • It’s Hard to Be a Gentleman (2014)
  • Waterloo Teeth (2017)
  • Shotgun House (2017)
  • Mississippi (2017)
  • Hell in a Fast Car (2017)
  • Hardbeat (2017)
  • Boddy Popping (2017)
  • Long Gone (2019)
  • The Future is Dead (2019)
  • I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend (2019)
  • A Handsome Stranger Called Death (2019)
  • It Must Be Love (2019)
  • I Don’t Wanna Be Your Friend (2019)
  • Summer of Discontent (the Future is Dead) (2020)
  • The Road to Right (2020)
  • The Palace (2020)
  • The Million Things That Keep Me Up at Night (2021)
  • Television is Not Your Life (2021)
  • Powerless (2021)
  • Talk Hard (2022)
  • Lena Don’t Leave Me (2022)
  • Hospital Tree (2022)
  • Words of Love (2023)
  • Crazy Horse (2023)
  • Jump, Jive and Wail (Live in London) (2023)
  • Smash, Stab and Burn (2023)
• EP
  • Iknowyouknowiknow (2023)

What Happens in Aldershot Stays in Aldershot

What Happens in Aldershot Stays in Aldershot is a documentary film that follows the band Reuben on tour, in the studio and at work for three months, trying to portray what it’s like to be in an underground British rock band. It was released March 2007 and the material was recorded Jan-December 2006. 

Jamie Jenman – Spotify Radio-list

I am a big fan of using Spotify to learn about new music, and after I quit buying tons of CDs at Amazon (and they kept recommending me new things to buy), Spotify has become one of my sources. Here is the track-list Spotify created as their “Radio” feature for Jamie Lenman:

Enoy!

Track name	Artist name	Album
Waterloo Teeth	Jamie Lenman	Devolver
Intro (Voices)	Bicurious	(re)constructed
Blind	Brutus	Nest
I Can Climb Mountains	Hell Is For Heroes	The Neon Handshake
Back to the Fuck Yeah	Pulled Apart By Horses	Pulled Apart by Horses
Long Gone	Jamie Lenman	Long Gone/Irrelevant
Death Before Disco	Pagan	Black Wash
Ii) Home	Arcane Roots	Left Fire
The Silence, The Silence, The Silence	’68	Give One Take One
Wring It Out	Rival Schools	Pedals
Hell in a Fast Car	Jamie Lenman	Devolver
Personal Space	False Advertising	Personal Space
Taxi for the Horde	Mingle Harde	Taxi for the Horde
The Fire Is Cold	The Damned Things	High Crimes
belly aching beast (feat. Jamie Lenman)	Sick Joy	WE’RE ALL GONNA F***ING DIE.
Smash, Stab And Burn	Jamie Lenman	Muscle Memory Max
Head Full of Bees	Racquet Club	Racquet Club
Lightning Field	Quicksand	Distant Populations
Jackals	Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes	Modern Ruin
Stompbox	Freeze the Atlantic	Freeze the Atlantic
Personal	Jamie Lenman	Devolver
You Said	False Advertising	Brainfreeze
Weak Handshake	Mingle Harde	Mingle Harde
Tea for One	Tusky	Rated Gnar
Sugar	Fighting With Wire	Man vs Monster
Fizzy Blood	Jamie Lenman	Muscle Memory
Burden	The Carolyn	This Will Begin to Make Things Right
Draw a Line	Dinosaur Pile-Up	Nature Nurture
Casanovacaine	The St Pierre Snake Invasion	Caprice Enchanté
Level Head	Superbloom	Level Head
Comfort Animal	Jamie Lenman	Devolver
Airborne Panic Attack	October Drift	I Don’t Belong Anywhere
Major	Brutus	Major / Horde
Arizona Waiting	Dinosaur Pile-Up	Nature Nurture
Misery	Gallows	Grey Britain (Standard DMD)
Popeye	Jamie Lenman	Shuffle
Weighed and Found Wanting	Mingle Harde	Mingle Harde
Stay out of Parkdale	Black Lungs	Pagan Holiday
Used For Glue	Rival Schools	United By Fate
You Don’t Drink a Unicorn’s Blood	Phoxjaw	Royal Swan
All of England Is a City	Jamie Lenman	Devolver
Pure Concentrated Evil	Open Hand	You And Me
Winky Face: The Mark of a Moron	Mingle Harde	Mingle Harde
Running On Empty	The Ghost Of A Thousand	New Hopes, New Demonstrations
Self-Destruction (as a Sensible Career Choice)	Spanish Love Songs	Brave Faces Everyone
My Anchor – MM Version	Jamie Lenman	Muscle Memory Max
Crush This World	They Fell From The Sky	Decade
Waltzer	October Drift	I Don’t Belong Anywhere
White Skin / Tanned Teeth	Blood Command	Cult Drugs
Missile Command	Quicksand	Distant Populations

PS! I wish I could have credited the photo I used in the article, but I got it from Jamie Lenman’s Facebook page, where he posted a bunch of great photos and wrote “ I think most of ’em are by Scott Chalmers and Lena Lenman Photography but there are some by Chris Soden and Jake Lewis”… So…