Jake Bugg released his first self-titled album, a few weeks back, and not only he sounds promising but he managed to put together a debut album of 14 no-need-to-skip tracks. If this is not impressive enough, this boy from Clifton, Nottingham, is only 18 years old and has already been compared to the likes of Bob Dylan and Oasis.
Comparisons aside, Jake Bugg is someone with his very own personality, a deep and emotional songwriter whose music proves that just a voice and a guitar can create a powerful enough combination to make you shiver on ballads like “Broken” and the sweet “Simple As This”. A contemporary country and folk appeal is the thread you walk on as you listen to the record with the opener and single “Lightning Bolt” setting the album’s mood.
Age is just a number. Despite his young years, he seems pretty strong-opinioned. He didn’t give in to the pressure put on him by his friends to participate in the auditions for the talent TV show “Britain’s Got Talent”, instead, he was chosen by the BBC to appear on their “Introducing” stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, a turning point that granted him a contract with Mercury Records and the chance to support Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Belsonic Music Festival.
Elegant touches with very short tracks like “Country Song” and closer “Fire”, the sound is distilled in a fresh and new approach of acoustic music. It is not a revival or a praise of folk songs, and even if it was he made a brilliant job. Take the sound of The Lumineers, smash it on the wall and you will get a darker, edgier and yet balanced mood. As he sings “I’ve seen it all now” over and over, you can’t help but feel amazed by this young new talent and wonder what could be next.
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