Will the real Jake Bugg please stand up? The mop-headed young troubadour has taken more control over his third album - but he adopts so many styles, it’s hard to tell which is dress up and which his authentic self.
“I’m just a poor boy from Nottingham,” he laments on the swampy opener, On My One, establishing a rootsy, Disney’s Robin Hood sort of mood. On Gimme the Love, he raps over a laddish breakbeat. On Love Hope and Misery, he attempts a power-ballad and takes some faintly larcenous liberties with the “Mama” bit of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bugg, 22, has described this as his “make or break” album but it’s hard to escape the sense that he’s trying too hard to please everyone in the focus group here.
Versatility can be a strength (see Paul McCartney) and there’s no doubting Bugg’s songwriting chops - but a little more focus would have channelled his restless talent.
(Virgin)
