Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg (2013)

Yet another mercury prize nominee (check out Jon Hopkins if you're not sure what I mean by "yet another"), but this one's different. Although the cover art (or the relation to Jon Hopkins) might not look it, this actually a pretty softcore/folk/singer-songwriter album.

To be honest, I find this guy to be pretty awesome. The album has stylistic cohesiveness and the songs are pretty heart-grabbing at times. Plus, his unique vocals (compared to the albums cover art) really add to this feeling. I honestly used to think (and act on those thoughts) that you either listen to this album early, on a sunny morning, of a day full of work ahead of you or, in the evening when you're both tired and you want to express your tender feelings by putting this album on.

I guess that would be my only critique. While the first track - Lighting Bolt really gets you pumped up for the day, the closing track - Fire couldn't be further from that. And whereas with Jon Hopkins, the albums progression from aggression to calm comes very naturally and is very nicely paced, this album sometimes jumps from one end to the other and honestly doesn't give you a cohesive line to follow through.

All in all, no structure, but the songs are nice. Check it out.

Obligatory links:

Note To Self
Simple As This
Fire