Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg

Looks like Miles Kane. Sounds like a male KT Tunstall. Sorry, I've drifted into the NME pattern of things by reviewing an album by referring to seven other existing acts (I counted them all in their review of this! Yay me). It's getting to the stage now where I look up the ages of new artists and recoil in horror. Jake Bugg was born in 1994. I remember that year. I'm only 22, I shouldn't feel like this yet. Fuck.

So, the old "I've been busy" excuses aside, I avoided reviewing this around the whole Leona Lewis/Jake Bugg 'credibility' debacle because it was incredibly embarrassing and made me a little more wary of Bugg and his credentials. No one likes a blabbermouth, and bragging that it's time to knock the X Factor from the top spot is just sad. A noble ambition, indeed, but one that should be left unsaid.

Opener 'Lightning Bolt' is essentially the album's radio earworm, and with good reason. A quickfire rockabilly rhythm and jaunty chorus give it a satisfying finish, and make it an enjoyable listen. A strong layer of authenticity and 'edge' is spray-painted on 'Two Fingers', a truly tedious smoking-and-anti-authority number that opts for the pub-chorus so fondly adored by the douchier sides of the rock fans. "Flying all around, never looking down, no I've never felt more alive" Bugg rejoices on 'Taste It', a fleeting and vaguely catchy glimpse that runs out of steam quickly. When he comes up for air, though, he's able to pen something truly charming: the slow clapping rhythm of 'Seen it All' gives more time for Bugg's lyrics to settle. Again, on 'Simple as This', the backing is little more than your typical cider-in-the-countryside fayre but he possesses a witty lyrical hand: "Tried liberation of my own free will/ But it left me looking to get higher still".

Of course the rural-adoration and soppy romance get a bit wet at times - the single 'Country Song' is probably the least interesting of these tracks, but is sure to set certain hearts aflutter. He even proves the male equivalent of Taylor Swift (although it might just be the chorus' similarity to Love Story's bridges) on 'Broken', a pretty classic ballad with just the right amount of crooning. Tales of benefits and tower blocks are told on 'Trouble Town', as though the watered down and more palatable version of Plan B's whole Ill Manors "bloody Cameron!" zeitgeist, but Bugg brings an interesting twist to it: "If there's a beating in the streets/ If there's a feeling of defeat/ You're the one it happens to", he observes, refusing to go all-out in the anger stakes. Instead, Bugg revels in anonymity and mystery threats with the ambiguous 'Ballad of Mr. Jones', which reads more like a Daily Mail editorial.

When it comes to the heart, though, Bugg's quest for knowledge and wisdom is all the more endearing: "don't know how to take it in/ is love just suffering?" he asks on 'Slide'. 'Somebody Told Me' is still pestering me to this day because it sounds like about 30 different preexisting songs. I think one of them might be Bruno Mars' Grenade. Not sure. He does a fairly convincing attempt at a Lay Lady Lay-era Bob Dylan impression on 'Note to Self', the album's stand-out pretty moment, encouraging a love interest to value herself without all the typical One Direction-you-don't-know-you're-well-fit-or-whatever schmaltz. His youth does show at times, though, and another ballad 'Someplace' is a bit of a predictable ride ("Don't go away / I need you to stay / I want to go someplace and find you there"). We're let out the back door with some crackly vinyl sound effects (+10 authentic points!) on the otherwise wonderful and simple 'Fire'.

If we can ditch the quite obvious pastiches here we might be onto something exciting, but it looks like this has already worked so I won't get too optimistic. Jake Bugg is a mish-mash of musical history, and doesn't really hammer across anything personal that hasn't been painted far more eloquently by other street-watching UK males this year (see: Plan B). The fact is, everything here can be compared to about ten other bands. I'm sure one of them might even sound like Barry Manilow. None of them really scream 'Jake Bugg', and I get the impression none of them will endure the test of time.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Simple As This, Note to Self, Lightning Song, Broken, Fire, Trouble Town
Avoid: Taste It, Two Fingers, Someone Told Me, Country Song, Ballad of Mr. Jones

Artwork Watch: I'd like to think that at least one person bought this under the impression it was a solo effort from one of the Gallaghers.
For fans of: Oasis, Miles Kane, Donovan
Up next: Taylor Swift