Jake Bugg

A lot of time has passed since we've seen the fresh faced teenager from Nottingham shake the music industry with his fresh yet familiar approach rockabilly rhythm and blues.hes a musician that has experienced the ups and downs of the music industry in which at the time of his debut, was crying out for the next dylan. However, longevity breeds confidence and this is the finest we've seen Jake in his own skin. Bugg’s return is one of a full circle moment in his career. Alamo celebrates the routes of which Jake Buggs early successes rise to the surface, from stripped back softly song folk picking guitar to some classic rhythm and blues that we've come to know and love with Jake’s discography.

What sets this record apart from his previous work is his vulnerability. We've seen it throughout his career but it's this record in which you can tell is the most personal. Opening track ‘when the night’ encapsulates exactly that. A hauntingly sombre acoustic guitar lightly plays with Bugg delivering the opening lines of “when the night comes through my door, when the shadows fall to the floor, I find myself wishing I was someone else”. It sets the tone for the album and the emotions throughout.

On the surface, Alamo may seem like a real nod to the early work that put Bugg on the scene. But it's far more than that. This is Bugg doing it his way and creating a record that's true to him and his influences. There's the unmissable delicate finger picking of Nick Drake, to the deeply harrowing lyricism that takes you on a Journey like Bob Dylan. At just 32 years old, it feels slightly odd to be citing Bugg as a veteran of the indie scene, but there's a musical maturity in Alamo that only comes with an artist that has suave and charisma in everything they're doing.

Even the album title itself hints at some emotional maturity and self-reflection. The battle of the Alamo was a fight with staggeringly overwhelming odds, and perhaps this is a battle in which bugg sees as more of a metaphor as to what's going on in his life, and his struggles. In the lead up to the record, Bugg has mentioned he's had a tough time in between albums. Being thrusted into the limelight at 17 years old was almost certainly daunting, yet achieving all of his dreams at the same time leaves little room for reflection.

Alamo is a record that will satisfy the core Jake Bugg fans whilst winning the hearts of a few new audiences along the way. Bugg’s about to embark on a massive UK acoustic tour supporting the record, and there's a sense of Jake entering this new chapter of his career with much anticipation and excitement. Whether audiences view this as a return to glory or an exciting new path is in some ways relevant. It's just exciting to see an established artist seemingly confident within himself and the records he's creating.