Whilst there was nothing particularly wrong with Jake Bugg's previous releases, it seemed hypocritical of him to headline bait on how manufactured mainstream pop is when, he himself, uses co-writers and composers for his previous releases.
Whilst nowhere near as heartbroken as Noel Gallagher (although I do agree that he could have been in a band instead to help writing duties), Bugg is always marketed as Diet-Gallagher; headline grabbing, giving zero fucks and simply trying to make a name for himself against the same five people who write the majority of songs in the top forty (seriously folks, Google it).
Whilst his debut had some notable rough patches and his second was a slightly less memorable retread that even Rick Rubin's stellar production couldn't help, you could never say they were bad. They always had singles, they had satisfying album cuts and they had consistency. Best case scenario was that Bugg was young and, with age would come wisdom, experience and the ability to mould his craft into something truly special.
In the lead up to On My One, Bugg promised his third album was solely written by himself (with a probable play on words of the change in the album's title) and that it'd be a make or break for him. Even at his age, he knows a bad album would certainly not bring fans back for a fourth.
And what a bad album it is. I wanted to like it, I wanted the success story of a young songwriter finding his feet with a superior third album, but On My One is just putrid from confusing start to confusing ending.
Opening with the title track, a stripped back acoustic ballad where Bugg's vocal inflections somehow make Nottingham difficult to pronounce, you'd think this would be the tone setter, that the album with the departure of Iain Archer, is purely Bugg and a guitar with minimal percussion.
And of course, you'd be wrong. Gimme the Love smashes through with Stone Roses-esq Madchester beats and a thick bass and all bets are off. Again Bugg's sharp vocals clash with the low mix of the music, although the chorus sounds miles better where they go softer and are complimented by backing ones. The breakdown in the final third, again, is reminiscent of Begging You by The Stone Roses, but otherwise, it's harmless indie-disco, a surprising highlight in the grand scheme of what's to come.
For the next thirty minutes, the album fluctuates between genres and styles, never settling for one for reasons that escape me. Never Wanna Dance is generic pop with again, Bugg's vocals clashing with the softer music. Livin' Up Country and All That are throwbacks to Bugg's older sound on his debut. To his credit, they'd easily rest on that album as filler, but here, it's just another toe dipped in another pool.
One of the album's weakest points is Bugg's vocals which never had a problem on his last two albums but here, host a plethora of problems. A lot of the album results in him screeching out words at a higher mix than the music (usually on choruses) whilst, even at the quieter moments, where his voice sounds more natural, there's barely any tone or pitch to them.
Of course, nothing can prepare you for the crowning jewel of absolute hilarity (and probably the inspiration behind this review) which is Ain't No Rhyme, where Bugg, swear to holy deity, raps.
It's just as bad as you can imagine.
Lyrically, Bugg details his issues with voting and corporation greed, the end of the rhymes often covered by guitar chords making it hard to pick up the actual words (his vocal track here is strangely lowered). Credit where it's due, it sounds like he never intended for himself to actually rap on it and for someone else to do it, but it's here and it's a car crash.
I would daresay the song is actually worth listening to just to see how long your eyeballs can stay in their sockets before spinning out from rolling so much. Of course, if your vision (and hearing) is precious, it definitely isn't.
After that, the album has peaked. It's simple acoustic ballads which make no sense coming after the rap (unless it's to recover from it) and the album ends on Hold On You, with Bugg once again screeching out a "LADY!" for good measure.
Again, I really wanted this to be Bugg's crowning moment, but instead, it's a mess from start to end. In the grand scheme, his previous two albums sound like masterpieces to this and it's hard to see where Bugg can actually go from here (other than him admitting his mistakes and going back to formula).
I can't recommend it to fans unless Bugg's generic lyrics and vocals resonate with you, in which case, you might find something here to enjoy. But otherwise; it's a mercifully short but unmercifully dull album that has very little to enjoy.
3/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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