More about: Jake Bugg

In his first proper tour since the tail end of 2014, the 22-year-old Jake Bugg kicks off his brand new era with a number of first-time plays and a whole host of old favourites. Bugg and his three-piece band arrives on stage to little fanfare, not even allowing the walk-on music to start properly – there is a sense of no-nonsense about him that certainly hasn't changed.

Bugg's familiar country sway is all over the downbeat brooding 'On My One' which kickstarts the set, rather than recapping the sound on his first two LPs this opener creates a sonic bridge to his new material. Next up is the sun-kissed strum of ‘You and Me’ from Shangri-La which conducts a sweet singalong, this is trumped as Bugg acts as storyteller on ‘Seen It All’ recounting the tales of a debauched Friday night in Nottingham.

The first new debut is 'Love, Hope and Misery' which is all funk-chops and synth strings, one thing Bugg has learnt is the art of atmosphere replacing the simple instrumentation of his folk-rock with space.

The band leave Bugg 'on his one' to play a few acoustic songs mid-way through, after a few mishaps in between his backing band on the new material he jabs "I'm going to play a few acoustic numbers, the band are making too many mistakes." First is the gently plucked oldie 'Country Song' which welcomes a moment of tenderness. His ability as a singer is stretched but hits on point in the ballad 'A Song About Love', he confesses that he never really liked the studio version and he’s dead right - the bare bones of the song is stunning in the live setting.

There is a sense of effortlessness about Bugg which is prominent most in his natural 'one man and a guitar' aesthetic. As the band rejoin him, he himself even nods to his own insouciance in new song ‘Never Wannna Dance' which is laden with a melancholic groove and chirping keys. 'Slumville Sunrise' operates at high speed generated by that quickfire riff, the pacy plugged-in side of Bugg is something he has truly mastered which is proved further on ‘Kingpin’.

The set is completed with the beat-led lead single 'Gimme The Love'. The track finds Jake testing the waters of uncharted territory, influences post-1960s Blues are finally strapped into the songwriting, namely 90s House here. As the singer/songwriter style is seemingly second nature to him, it's great to see him outside of his comfort zone wrestling with a fast-paced funk guitar line – this new flavour hits on something huge which hopefully is tapped into even further on the forthcoming album.

With this new material in alignment alongside his first two efforts, it's an impressive feat to hear such a scope of songs. Bugg hasn't allowed himself to be stapled in as just a singer who belongs to another era, he’s progressed and proven he can shake up that often sticky and restricted nostalgic format. Be very excited for this new era of Jake Bugg.

Jake Bugg's upcoming tour dates are below. For tickets and more information, visit here. 

Tue March 08 2016 - LONDON Tufnell Park Dome
Thu March 10 2016 - LONDON Electric Brixton
Fri March 11 2016 - LONDON Bush Hall
Thu June 23 2016 - MANSFIELD Sherwood Pines Forest Park

More about: Jake Bugg