Since the release of his debut album last October, Nottingham’s Jake Bugg has been at the forefront of public attention and fans have been counting down the days to the release of his new single ‘Slumville Sunrise.’
Unfortunately I’m not going to be jumping on the bandwagon with this one. Yes, it’s Jake Bugg, it could never really be anyone else and his sound is one that’s so recognisable and unique that I suppose you could argue ‘why change it’. But I think that’s what this song lacked for me; besides being a little more upbeat than the majority of his last album there was nothing striking or new that made me think he’d grown as an artist.
I have to hand it to him it is extremely catchy, I do love the chorus and it has a brilliant guitar bridge but overall I felt like the song was just rushed. It was as if he was trying desperately to fit what he wanted to say into an unsuitably short space of music. I could definitely picture this one being a great one to see live though; it’s got a lot of energy and a memorable and repetitive tune that a live audience will go mad for. I never usually do this either but I decided to give the video a watch and that undeniably made me enjoy the song a lot more. It’s cheeky and a little different so definitely give it a watch if you get the chance.
I understand why his fans love it, because it’s so typically him. But if, like me, you’re more impartial to his music then this isn’t going to be the song that makes you put him on a playlist you regularly listen to. In other words, it’s good but it’s nothing special. Despite this, I’d still be interested to see what his new album ‘Shangri La’, due out this November, will be like. Perhaps he’ll introduce something new to the table.
By Ella Watson
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