Jake Bugg - Shangri La

He’s not an X Factor type star, but his experience has been similar in certain ways. For a start, sudden success snagged him a supermodel girlfriend in Cara Delevinge, instantly making him redtop fodder (a position he has used to curious effect by slagging off the likes of Taylor Swift and One Direction). All very well and good, but has it been a case of ‘too much, too soon’ for a burgeoning musical talent?
First answer: all the fame and acclaim certainly doesn’t appear to have distracted him. Far from suffering from ‘difficult second album’ syndrome, Bugg has wasted no time in recording his sophomore release. Produced by the legendary Rick Rublin at his Shangri La studio in Malibu (thus the namedropping title), the album was recorded in just three weeks. Before that, Bugg had spent some time in Nashville, Tennessee, writing with Brendan Benson who’s credited on gospel influenced album closer ‘Storm Passes Away’, and demoing at Memphis’ Sun Studio.
With Rubin at the helm, it’s very much an unashamedly American-sounding album, albeit with scattered shades of guitar-driven Britrock. Short, sharp opening track ‘There’s A Beast And We All Feed It’ is heavily influenced by Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’: let’s call it an homage. On the plus side, it’s really good and, at under two minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome. And, of course, chances are that much of his audience won’t even know who Dylan is. Elsewhere, he often sounds like Neil Young. It only doesn’t work when he adopts an American twang, as he does on the rather limp ‘Pine Trees’.
Musically, the album is tight and often energetic. He’s had some expert help on that front. The searing ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ features Jason Lader on bass, Matt Sweeney on guitar and Pete Thomas of The Attractions on drums.
Despite the American sound, lyrically it’s mostly grounded in his experiences of life growing up in Nottingham. At his sharp-focused best, he captures the emotional intensity of finding your feet as a teenager. Occasionally, though, it’s rather obvious that he’s still only 19. Opening with the line, “Johnny deals a bit of blow on the side,” ‘Messed Up Kids’ describes the alienation of youth with nothing to do but “sell their drugs and sell their bodies.” Musically, it’s fine, but the clichés are ragged with overuse.
It’s a fast/slow, great/grate and occasionally ho/hum affair. ‘Kitchen Table’ is smooth and soulful, while ‘Simple Pleasures’ sounds influenced by Noel Gallagher. Bugg is at his best when he’s howling like Neil Young and rocking it up on tracks like the Wire-inspired ‘Kingpin’. But at no stage can he be accused of reinventing the wheel.
Shangri La is a good album, but it’s not the great one we hoped for. Given Bugg’s relative youth and inexperience, that’s no deal-breaker. On the album closer, he sings, “They keep telling me I’m older than I’m supposed to be.” That’s okay too. He’s one of the brightest prospects in the rock firmament. But there’s still lots of growing to do.

Key Track: 'What Doesn't Kill You'