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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

British artist Jake Bugg shines by pairing nostalgia with originality

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Singer-songwriter Jake Bugg burst onto the American music scene earlier this month when his self-titled debut album hit stores stateside. At nineteen, he has already achieved critical acclaim in his native England, topping the UK album charts in October of last year. Bugg learned to play the acoustic guitar at a young age and started doing local gigs in his hometown of Nottingham when he was around 17 years old. He was discovered after being chosen by BBC to appear on stage at the Glastonbury Festival in 2011. Soon after, he signed a record deal. His album starts off strong with the single “Lightning Bolt” and gathers momentum as it progresses. The tracks boast both a catchy beat and smooth lyrics that reflect an uncommon wit. His pithy writing packs a punch, and most of the songs are under three minutes, keeping the message short and sweet.

Bugg has a unique, rocky voice that infuses a sense of nostalgia into his songs, lending a retro feel to modern themes. He is being hailed as the new Bob Dylan and is frequently plugged as the antidote to the substance-less pop that has invaded the music scene of late. Yet he does not appear to be overwhelmed by his sudden success: when compared to Bob Dylan, he has been known to respond that Dylan was “great, but not a major influence.” He is more likely to have been influenced by the British punk/pop scene of the past few decades. The record is more reminiscent of Oasis’ Gallagher brothers or the swaggering sound of The Coral.

Bugg has also been making headlines recently for his dismissal of big-name bands such as Mumford & Sons and One Direction. Referring to Mumford & Son’s members as looking “like posh farmers with banjos,” he implicitly accused their folksy image of being dishonest. Despite the questionable validity and pettiness of his critiques, his opinions do not detract from his merit as a musician. For someone who is not yet 20 years old, he writes with remarkable aptitude and maturity. At times, though, his youth does distract from the music. Although no musician should be defined by his or her age, it is hard to take lyrics like, “I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen it all/Nothing shocks me anymore” seriously when they are sung by a teenager. The lyrics of another billboard hit, “Two Fingers,” depict a life spent bumming on the streets of Nottingham with buddies. As Bugg confidently croons “I drink to remember/I smoke to forget” and “Skin up a fat one/hide from the Feds,” it is clear his formative years were spent rebelling against small town confines.

Still, his precociousness is more impressive than irritating. While it is obvious that Bugg wants to be viewed as an authentic musician, it’s equally obvious that he actually is one. After playing his first show at his high school, his friends begged him to audition for British variety show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Bugg refused — “It doesn’t seem genuine,” he said. In some ways he is a typical teenage boy, trying to resist the mainstream drain. He emits a sullen vibe in interviews, but his scowl is mainly a fa?e, hiding a surprising vulnerability that is evident in tracks like “Note to Self” and “Broken.” Jake Bugg does seem to be the real deal, and as he navigates his new-found fame it will be interesting to see how he grows as a songwriter. Who knows, his increasing success might be indicative of a shift in our youth’s musical preference from manufactured, auto-tuned pop to unadulterated folk-rock. As Bugg sings in the second track of the album, “Something is changing, changing, changing.”