Jake Bugg - On My One
6/10
Jake Bugg is just a poor boy from Notting-hum. A poor boy with a guitar and a Mercury Records contract. At 22, On My One is Jake’s third album, but the first where he was allowed the freedom to really do his thang. In his eponymous debut, and 2013’s Shangri La, he had some help from more experienced songwriters. As a result, the first albums were cohesive entities; On My One is not a cohesive entity. Love, Hope and Misery, and Bitter Salt are particular stand out tracks, as well as The Love We’re Hoping For – the rhythm and chord sequence of which really invokes America’s A Horse With No Name. Catchy guitar tracks are what we know Jake does well. More questionable moments include Bugg’s rap attempts, which are not necessarily a strength worth playing to. Like a kid in a sweetshop, Jake Bugg seems to have grabbed ever genre he could think of with this album just because he could. Some parts work and some parts definitely don’t.
6/10