THE PLOT THUS FAR
Jake Bugg hit hard with his breakthrough single “Lightning Bolt,” he’s taken SXSW by storm and rocked an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” in the process becoming the youngest male artist in UK chart history to debut at #1 with his first album, Jake Bugg.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Live” is Bugg’s second album. Honestly, I missed most of the guy’s initial work, but I heard he was awesome from the Austin crowd. That being said, this was my first introduction to him. Then, the fans started comparing him to Donovan and Dylan. My urge to vomit started rising, as I began to measure those comparisons against what I was hearing. The music was quite above average, however I couldn’t quite reconcile the comparisons.
Jack Bugg wants to rock, but he does it in that way that seems to befit all of those young Brits that are sneaking across the Pond. I don’t want to call it Pussy Rock, but I have a hard time saying that it’s not so fresh. What it does is serve as mall or restaurant music. There’s a lack of depth, but it’s passable while you spend time waiting for your significant other to try on clothes or chow down on some overpriced pasta.
The CD kept me entertained, but it wasn’t something that I would instantly gravitate to listening. As time progressed on, I could see Bugg’s ties to the recent Brit folky movement and I can see the balance against a gentle rock. That being said, it is a schizo take and it leaves a lot of Bugg’s work sounding like an older performer trying to find that right sound. Is Bugg authentic? Sure, but so are a dozen other performers that aren’t offered the chance he got. He just plays the loudest.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!