ALBUM REVIEW: ON MY ONE BY JAKE BUGG

Since rising to fame in 2012 with the omnipresent ‘Lightning Bolt’, followed by a hugely successful self-titled debut album, Nottingham’s biggest musical export Jake Bugg has been a big presence on the British indie scene. An artist whose vocal stylings and music definitely divide opinion, he returned in 2013 with the Rick Rubin produced, more polished second studio effort ‘Shangri La’, which saw him play arena dates the following year. Three years on, Bugg is back with third album ‘On My One’ – a varied collection of tracks, many of which hit the spot while others misfire.

The title track starts proceedings, with lyrical references to his Nottingham background and “three years on the road”. Sounding alone and introspective, Bugg pulls off a brooding, subtly catchy number. This is followed by two tracks which couldn’t be more different from each other. ‘Gimme The Love’ opens with Stone Roses influenced beats that give way to Anthony Kiedis style vocal delivery in the verses prior to a hugely memorable chorus line of “just gimme the love!” It’s easy to imagine this energetic effort going down well on his tour later on in the year. ‘Love, Hope And Misery’ is next and, with orchestral instrumentation and soaring, yearning vocals, it’s a ballad on a grand scale in a similar way to ‘Broken’ and ‘Simple Pleasures’ from his first two albums. Despite lyrical clichés, it’s another winning track that consolidates a strong start to ‘On My One’.

‘The Love We’re Hoping For’ is another ballad with some considered, creative lyrics, but lacks originality compared to some of the album’s other slower numbers. ‘Put Out The Fire’ sees Bugg return to his upbeat country roots, though little new is brought to the table here, and it feels like a less convincing re-tread of territory from his debut. ‘Never Wanna Dance’, with brass instruments and a more ambient feel, is one of the record's more adventurous attempts, and ‘Bitter Salt’ is a refreshing blend of several elements from across Bugg’s music – it’s possibly the catchiest track here. However, Bugg’s attempts to rap on outright mistake of a song ‘Ain’t No Rhyme’ are cringe-inducing at best and downright disheartening at worst. It’s safe to say that Skepta and Stormzy will still be able to sleep at night knowing Bugg poses no threat at all to their dominance of the UK urban scene.

After the misadventure into hip-hop territory, we’re back on familiar ground with ‘Livin’ Up Country’. Featuring a good vocal performance and well-constructed musical stylings, this is Bugg in his comfort zone, and so is penultimate number ‘All That’. Here, we have the most moving song on the album dealing with someone else’s escape seen through the lens of the writer’s own, more melancholy circumstances. It’s an emotional effort that can be classed as one of his finest ballads. The album closes on the more blues and rock-influenced ‘Hold On You’, where the smooth musical stylings enhance the raw vocal performance that is given. It’s a strong end and, throughout the eleven tracks on ‘On My One’, Bugg’s lyrical and musical abilities are undeniably shown to be good.

The album, which is self-produced, has been described as “make or break” by its creator. It’s likely that the album won’t “break” him – Bugg has already shifted plenty of tickets for an academy-sized tour announced on the back of its release. There is a lot to admire here and some of the tracks are up there with his best. What the album lacks, though, is the consistently high quality that defined his first two albums. Jake Bugg has done well to produce and write this broadly impressive album ‘on his one’, although you get the impression that a more discerning, consistent approach would elevate it further.

7.5/10

~ Dominic Penna 28/06/16