Jake Bugg - 'Hearts That Strain' Album Review

Jake Bugg – ‘Hearts That Strain’

Nearly half a decade ago now, Nottingham’s Jake Bugg burst onto the indie music scene with his fresh, innovative, folksy & wry take on love and modern day teenage-ism in a suburban setting. His debut album was extremely successful and many believed that it would set the wheels in motion for a long and illustrious solo career. This, however, has not been the case. Bugg’s next record ‘Shangri La’ felt ultimately like a collection of B-sides that weren’t strong enough to make the first record, whilst the less said about his 3^rd album ‘On My One’ the better. Bugg has often felt the need to throw experienced co-writers (Ian Archer) and producers (Rick Rubin) into the mix for his records, often to little joy however. It’s therefore refreshing to see that the entirety of his latest album ‘Hearts That Strain’ has been written solely by Bugg himself. Not essentially refreshing or innovating from a musical point of view, but for his own personal satisfaction.

After listening to ‘Hearts That Strain’ there is no doubting Bugg’s influence on this record, there is a distinctly Nashville vibe to the 11 tracks on here, whether it’s the ‘Wichita Lineman’ sounding ‘How Soon The Dawn’ or the ‘Islands in the Stream’ reminiscent ‘Waiting’, a duet with Noah Cyrus, Miley’s younger sister, it’s clear to see that Bugg has his feet firmly situated in Southern America on this one.

Bugg utilised a vast array of uber talented session musicians for this latest record. Some of Elvis’ last backing band members feature as well as Dan Auerbach, The Black Keys frontman in order to attempt to aid its rustic, laidback style. It ultimately results in a solid, consistent sound that has been difficult to find on previous Bugg records which have often had the knack to skim from genre to genre whilst not obtaining a consistently strong sound to make him a respected raconteur.

Overall, there is little wrong with ‘Hearts That Strains’, yet, at the same time, there is little right with it either. It’s rather dull and boring when listened to in its entirety, despite its relatively short running length. There are some highlights, the Latin tempo of ‘How Soon the Dawn’ is delightfully refreshing and there’s element of fun in ‘Burn Alone’. Yet, there’s just not enough going on in this record to deliver merit to Bugg. After 4 records in 4 years, I feel that Bugg needs to take a few years off, perfect his writing ability and come back a stronger artist because currently he doesn’t have the inventiveness to become a standout artist in the current exceedingly talented music scene.

Overall Rating – 5/10

Fave Tracks – ‘How Soon The Dawn’, ‘Burn Alone’, ‘Waiting’

Least Fave Tracks- ‘Hearts That Strain’, ‘Bigger Lover’