In the six years since his last album, ‘Christiana’, James has covered a fair amount of distance, both emotional and literal. The culmination of that journey results in the release of his new album in 2017.

The album, recorded by the same five-piece band with whom he now performs live, is an album full of human warmth and emotion and a strident piece of abstract art, the collision point between the theory of Basinski and the melody of Northern Soul.

James has remixed artists including The Cribs, ¡Forward, Russia!, Sky Larkin, Mat Riviere, Ill Ease and Los Campesinos!, and played alongside bands as diverse as Wild Beasts, 65Daysofstatic, Minor Victories, Damo Suzuki, Hot Chip, Crushed Beaks and Willy Mason.

As a sound artist, he has produced large scale sound installations for Union Chapel in London and Leeds Central Library.

PRESS

An embarrassment of musical riches... a perfect late curio of 2010. - 8/10 NME

Sheer pop-hook majesty and killer choruses... pure inspiration - Sunday Times ****

An eccentric who deserves to be considered the peer of fellow electro-melodicists Fuck Buttons and Animal Collective - MOJO

The melodies are generous, the emotions writ large, and the arrangements thrilling. - Word

There's an appealing spirit of English eccentricity to James Mabbett's second album... it channels influences as far-flung as Brian Wilson, Balearic house and space rock. - The Observer

Swirling atmospheric backdrops take you on bizarre aural trips... an infectiously entertaining, from-the-heart album - Artrocker

Christiania is faultless. - (Recommended Album) The Line Of Best Fit

It's not often that an album like this comes along... a masterpiece. - ***** God Is In The TV

An inarguably majestic affair - **** The Big Issue

An off-kilter trip-pop wonder, recalling the likes of Panda Bear and Dan Deacon. - Clash

Life and vivacity flows through the album... stunning. - 8/10 Drowned In Sound

Nine songs of remarkable breadth and magnitude...Napoleon IIIrd is rightly celebrated as one of the most distinctive and intriguing contemporary artists. - High Voltage

Christiania's dense pop productions merit further investigation and reveal a perverse intelligence at work. - Stool Pigeon

A true master of the kind of outsider pop that's created for bespectacled youths turned off by chart hits. - Loud & Quiet

Napoleon IIIrd sweats undiluted awesome power. The kind of performance that makes you want to call everyone you care about and tell them they should be here to see it. - The Fly