Jake Bugg released his solo album last October to mass critical acclaim, but now that the hype as died down, is he really worth his salt? Eoghan Scott investigates…
In this day and age, where a reality television career and being a pop star is practically the same thing, it’s genuinely surprising when (seemingly out of nowhere) somebody such as Jake Bugg emerges. To be just eighteen years old and to have already released an album is impressive enough. To be eighteen years old and for that album to reach number one on the charts is even better. Of course, being eighteen years old and having a number one album isn’t necessarily a new thing. In fact, some of the most famous and recognisable people in the world have achieved just that, Justin Bieber being the obvious example. What sets Jake Bugg’s self-titled debut apart though, perhaps most impressive of all, is that it’s actually good.Opening track ‘Lightning Bolt’ kicks things off with an upbeat skiffle/rock melody and lyrics worthy of Alex Turner, not a comparison to be thrown around lightly. Released as the first single off the album, it gets things off to an impressive start and is not let down when followed up by ‘Two Fingers’, another rousing, lively track, and perhaps the catchiest song on an album full of surprisingly catchy songs.The standard set by Bugg continues onto one of the (many) standout tracks of the album, ‘Seen It All’; once again drawing lyrical comparisons to Alex Turner, the song is a narrative tale of a night out gone wrong. Barely a minute into the song, it is clear how out of his depth the narrator is (“I made my way inside past a thousand crazy eyes/then a friend took me aside, said everyone here has a knife”). The song builds upon this tension, eventually culminating in somebody being stabbed and Bugg bursting into an energetic chorus of “I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen it all, nothing shocks me anymore”. He’s only eighteen, he obviously hasn’t seen it all just yet; but the beauty of the song is that, for almost three minutes, he manages to convince you that he has.The album sees a change of pace following ‘Seen It All’, settling into a more reflective tone and beginning with the folksy ‘Simple As This’, the acoustic ballad ‘Country Song’, and the anthemic ‘Broken’, without the quality ever once dipping. The influence of Bob Dylan is clearly felt on track nine, ‘Ballad of Mr. Jones’, another dark narrative song, acting as a sort of companion piece to ‘Seen It All’, about a murder trial and it’s resulting consequences. Following that track is another three track run of acoustic ballads, the high point of which (and probably the high point of the entire album) is ‘Someone Told Me’, a song with such a rich and perfect melody, one wonders how it could be written by someone not even in their twenties; and more than anything, it acts as the perfect outlet for his distinctive voice.As it is, ‘Jake Bugg’ is a thoroughly consistent album, and with songs like these it’s no wonder he is already able to count God...I mean Noel Gallagher... and The Stone Roses as part of his growing fanbase.Only 18 years old and he’s already achieved so much more than me. It’s a kind of depressing thought...I think I’ll cheer myself up by listening to Jake Bugg. Jake Bugg plays to a sold-out audience at The Academy, Dublin on Sunday February 10th. His album is available now.Image courtesy of thisisnottingham.co.uk
