Tag Archives: Jake Bugg

Mayday!

01 Friday May 2026

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Mayday is the international radio distress signal indicating that some kind of ship is going down. You say it three times just so there’s no mistake. Lately it’s been feeling like a succession of mayday moments the world over. The musical offerings here are all sounding some kind of alarm: social, political, individual. Take your pick.

Janne Borgh Fanclub kick things off with a song that heads right for the intersection of politics and popular culture we’re stuck into right now. “Poetry, Protest, and Pop Songs” is the title track of an album that wields some pretty mean jangle guitar riffs. If there’s any hope out there then a Rickenbacker will definitely be in the mix. Then The Blusterfields get to the point with “Here Come the Idiots.” Cutting lyrics are the order of the day here. And the tune is pretty sweet, kinda like XTC meets the Monkees. On “They’re Coming For Us” Ryan Allen makes it clear that sitting this one out is not an option. There’s a nice poppy bit of bridge work in this tune. From the EP of the same name you can also enjoy the incredibly hooky “This Ugly.” Style-wise the cover evokes all those old Billy Bragg album designs.

So what is to be done at this particular chaotic historical juncture? Responses vary. Andrew Weiss and Friends tells us “I Don’t Want to Live in This World Anymore.” It sounds like he’s turning away but the song is more about drawing a line in the sand about what you’re prepared to accept. With some great harmonica work. Sorry Monks cautions us to turn away from the bitter side of life on “Chip On Your Shoulder” with his usual Beatlesque aplomb. Just keep humming that chorus and who could be bitter? The pleasant surprise album from Juliana Hatfield and song co-writer Eric Payne Bets contains “Your Social Security.” And given clown car ride that is America’s current administration what might happen to it has got to be front of mind for a lot of people right now. Of course, if you’re looking for a dramatic exit, The Just Joans are suggesting that “Everybody’s Moving to Australia.” I’m not sure it’s really do-able for most people, particularly Australians. But it’s got a singalong swing to it that is certainly attractive. Of course, for a lot of people winging it is the most likely response to what is going on. Bory give breathy voice to such sentiments on “We’ll Burn That Bridge When We Get To It.” It makes this option sound so carefree, at least until things careen a bit more caustically in the instrumental break.

Now I’m not one for leaving things without direction. Joshua Jesty’s recent EP Orgone Box Sampler 10.23.25 riffs on a host of current governance problems, often with hilarious results. One song manages to madly repeat how someone has ‘put a tariff on you’ for just about everything. But the most pop oriented tune here is “Drop the Deadbeat.” The advice seems sound. Mark Ward has made a whole album decrying the problems of this moment. Godless Country has so many great cuts that call out who is responsible. “I Don’t Care” names names about this decades great cover-up and insinuates the rest. You know who he’s talking about here. Never has denunciation sounded so melodically sweet. Brother Dynamite also sharpen their lyrical knives on “Your Time Will Come” leaving little doubt who or what they are referring to. The message here is that what goes around will eventually come back around, delivered with a glorious chorus that feels more than a little uplifting.

Ending on a slightly different note, let’s face it, a lot of people are carrying on as if the world is not on fire. Jake Bugg really captures this reality on “Oblivious,” one of four cuts added to the expanded version of his 2024 album A Modern Day Distraction. The track sounds so guitar-ringing positive, despite its message. Sometimes you just have to smile through gritted teeth.

There’s a lot of ways to signal distress. We went the melody route. Help is just a hyperlink away with all the featured artists above.

Photo ‘The Andromeda Strain’ courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.

Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2025

09 Friday Jan 2026

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Are singles just the equivalent of a musical snack for you? Need something a bit meatier, a bit more filling? Well, here’s the list for you. Twenty-five full length LPs gathered from throughout the year that was 2025. There’s rock, there’s pop, there’s jangle. There’s love, there’s despair, there’s political commentary. Dig in and pick out your own faves.

Without further delay, here is Poprock Record’s 25 must-have LPs for 2025:

1. Absolute Losers In the Crowd
2. The Sonny Wilsons Maybe
3. Strange Neighbors People Pleasing People
4. The Cords The Cords
5. The Rockyts Parkwood Manor
6. Tamar Berk ocd
7. Banda AL9 The Ninth King
8. Tom Henry Songs to Sing and Dance To
9. The Jeanines How Long Can It Last
10. Jean Caffeine Generation Jean
11. Lone Striker Lone Striker
12. Eytan Mirsky All Over the Map
13. Atticus Roness Power Pop World Domination
14. Greg Pope The Roar of Silence
15. Jody and the Germs Love Descends
16. Chris Lund Surveillance
17. The Mayflies USA Kickless Kids
18. The Wellingtons Baby Moon
19. Richard Turgeon Shungite
20. Dropkick Primary Colours
21. Ryan Allen Living on a Prayer on the Edge
22. The Spindles Wavelength
23. Jonathan Personne Nouveau Monde
24. The Loft Everything Changes Everything Stays the Same
25. Tristan Armstrong The Lonely Avenue

My top five albums got a lot airplay from me this past year. PEI’s Absolute Losers wowed me with their sonic revamp, pretty well reinventing their sound. And it was pretty good to start with. The Sonny Wilsons album was so fresh, so straight up poprock goodness. What can I say about Strange Neighbors that I haven’t written already? They write great songs, they play in a great style. I won’t call out every LP on the list but make no mistake, I really like all that appear there. Each one had some special thing that set it apart. And breaking it down, old faves and new discoveries both appear here in roughly equal measure. You can check them out as they were featured in the original posts by clicking the hotlinks.

Now I don’t think it’s just because it’s my day job (political scientist), but the world seemed pretty intensely political in 2025. You couldn’t avoid it, it was all over social media, conventional media, and the water cooler. And that showed up in the music as well, even a genre as generally apolitical as power pop. So I’m singling out 3 albums as my top political poprock albums of 2025:

1. Dish Pit Violet Dish Pit Violet
2. No Jersey Mondo Cool
3. David Woodard Everything Belongs

Mersey is never far from my mind, as in the distinct chimes of Merseybeat. Every year I single out some record that really revives the spirit of its golden era while still making it their own. This year’s best riff on the Beatles recognition goes to:

Rad Venture Merseyside

My policy on legacy artists is that I cover them when they put out something that grabs me but I’m not going put them in the lists above. What would be the point? They’re already getting plenty of media oxygen, they don’t life support from this little blog. But I did spent some considerable time with a few of them in 2025. Kathleen Edwards put out a stellar record, Tristen never lets me down, and what a surprise with those two albums by the boys from Stranger Things. Here’s my legacy artist shout out of notable albums for me from 2025:

1. Kathleen Edwards Billionaire
2. Tristen Unpopular Music
3. Mae Martin I’m a TV (Welcome Distraction Version)
4. Jake Bugg A Modern Day Distraction
5. Wilderado Talker
6. Jesse Welles Middle
7. Finn Wolfhard Happy Birthday
8. Djo The Crux
9. Suzanne Vega Flying With Angels
10. OK Go And the Adjacent Possible

Does it seem like overkill to single out the same band twice for the same award? I’m gonna risk it because this band killed with their second double-album collection of covers. This year’s special award of awesome poprock merit goes to:

The Half-Cubes Found Pearls: Pop Treasures Volume 2

Thanks for dropping by this past year and digging all these great finds with me. Check out your faves on the lists above and don’t be afraid to buy an album or two to support these artists well into their musical dotage.

Photo courtesy Francois Fibotte Flikr collection.

Extra Texture: Wilderado, Jake Bugg and Will Stewart

06 Thursday Mar 2025

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Rock and roll represents a dynamic synthesis of rhythm and melody but an oft overlooked dimension is texture. Think the Beatles shifting from Rubber Soul to Revolver. A big part of that great leap forward happened in the overall sonic attack. Today’s artists all attend to matters of texture but in delightfully different ways.

Sometimes a record has a consistent sonic texture shaping the whole LP. Wilderado’s recent long-player Talker is exhibit A of that sort of thing. Words like ‘intimate’ and ‘hushed’ come to mind in trying to describe the vibe. The songs are like a theme park with different rides, they’re different and kinda the same too. Title track album opener “Talker” slow waltzes you into the centre of this other-worldly, slightly fuzzy dance floor. It’s the kind of song you can slow sway to all night. “Bad Luck” has a slightly more urgent, insistent feel but really it’s in no hurry.  By contrast “Simple” swaps out its measured slow verses for a positively upbeat chorus. Three songs in, you should be starting to get the feel for this record. It’s a mood. It varies but never really shifts where it’s at. You can hear things here that might remind of other acts. “Higher Than Most” sounds a bit Springsteen or Tom Petty. “Coming to Town” and “Longstanding Misunderstanding” remind me of Rogue Wave. There’s even a hint of SWMRS on “What Was I Waiting For” to my ears. And then there’s “Sometimes,” the low-key should-be hit single.

In so many ways Jake Bugg’s recording career has amounted to one long attempt to outrun the long shadow of his much-celebrated self-titled debut album. Each record since seems to have struggled to stand on its own in the face of fan and critic expectations. But with album number six Bugg seems more comfortable than ever with his own preferred melange of musical styles, mixing neo-folk, country, sixties rock and roll, and more modern pop motifs. A Modern Day Distraction opens with the electrifying pulse of indie rock number “Zombieland.” The guitar work is ferocious while the tune is hooky, particularly in the chorus. Then “All Kinds of People” breaks out an updated Bo Diddly beat. Both songs feature lyrics that speak to the struggles of working class people and here Bugg remains connected to the social critique that has long animated his work. “Breakout” is more frantic fun, evidence of Bugg’s talent for poppy tunes. The latin guitar solo here is just a special treat. An obvious should-be AM radio hit would be “Keep On Moving,” though the poppy rock of “Waiting for the World” comes a close second. Fans of Bugg’s more folky demeanor have come great cuts here with “I Wrote the Book,” “All I Needed Was You,” and his touching testament to loss “Never Said Goodbye.” He also offers up some decidedly Beatles-meets-Oasis chops on “Got to Let You Go” and a La’s/Cast echo on “Instant Satisfaction.”

Alabama’s Will Stewart has always been hard to keep a sticky label on. Previous album Country Seat and a raft of EPs seemed country steering towards roots with splash rock guitars here and there. But his new LP Moon Winx comes on like a blockbuster, suddenly jamming together all those past loose threads of musical influence into a one beautiful coherent synthesis.  I mean listen to how he opens “Regulars” with a few Beatlesque psychedelic pop notes before resolving into a Wilco-ish bit of Americana. The record kicks off with “Penny,” a solid gold should-be hit single if ever there was one. Everything is working on this song, from the punchy vocal delivery to the constant accompaniment of droning jangly guitars. Another strong radio ready number is “Bird in the Hand.” At other points, Stewart’s ear for classic retro musical tones is equal to J.D. McPherson, particularly on “Firebird Fever.” But in a way these could be seen as outliers on an album remarkable for its sonic restraint, with Stewart deploying different instruments like a miserly conductor. Tracks like “Mighty Fine” and “Til We Hear the Radio” hold back but don’t lack for intensity. Others just have a stately ballad delivery. Here I’m thinking of “The Arkestra at Dreamland” and the lovely “Late for the Banquet.” Then there’s the heartstrings-pulling story song “Roxy Blue,” lathered in mellow organ and pathos.

Some music rubs you the right way. That’s texture for you, the unsung spice that makes poprock tunes even more special. Get your extra texture by following the hyperlinks above.

Photo courtesy Indabelle Flikr collection.

Searching for Jake Bugg

05 Saturday Feb 2022

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Call me cynical, but original
Tryin’ to fit into a world that’s so digital
Came to let you know
I left the pigeon hole
Now I gotta find an edge, won’t let it go
Jake Bugg, “All I Need”

Poor Jake Bugg. It seems whatever choice he makes upsets somebody. His most recent long-player Saturday Night, Sunday Morning got some rave reviews as well as its share of detractors. But more than any other Bugg album, barring his self-titled debut, the record exudes a coherent style, a commitment to pursue a more contemporary sound come what may, combining classic Bugg vocals and guitar with dance beats and a radio-friendly sheen. I can certainly imagine a dance-mix of “Rabbit Hole” or “Lost” thumping out of some poorly lit night club. But as with most things Bugg, the songs have a substance that lend themselves to varying treatments. Compare the album version of “All I Need” to the ‘Mahogany Sessions’ version to really appreciate the jazzy elements in the guitar and piano riffs.

All I Need (album version)
All I Need (Mahogany Sessions)

I really enjoy both versions of the song and the fact that Bugg is trying to have his genre cake and eat it too, operating as he is under the pull of different factions of his audience. Basically he’s got a younger contemporary group with broad tastes (like Bugg himself) and an older group that would prefer he just re-issue a remake of his debut album again and again. And I get it (as a member of the older group, at least age-wise), his first record was not just another album, it was an experience. It spoke to a generation of young people who felt left behind economically and broader group of working class people regardless of age who had seldom heard their working class experience reflected in popular culture. To see an ocean of fans at various festivals in the 2012-14 period belt out his lyrics was both shiver-inducing and very moving. The temptation to simply redo his debut must have been strong. But as Bugg said shortly after making it big, he was no longer living the life that had inspired the songs on the first album. It’s hard to sing about the travails of the working class when you’re jetting around the world and modelling for Burberry. Now, in fairness, when you’re brought up in the working class it stays with you, even if you change class positions. But it often means you’re not this or that. And that’s what we see on Bugg’s post debut albums, the struggle to please his fans and find his own voice amidst the trappings of fame. Albums 2, 3 and 4 try to juggle these competing demands with varying levels of success.

This is where Saturday Night, Sunday Morning marks a significant departure. Stylistically it commits to what it’s doing. Set aside your bias for roots/folkie Jake Bugg and listen to this record on its own terms and it’s a winner. Put your headphones on to appreciate the guitar magic Bugg is working on “Kiss Like a Sun” and the chorus that has a wonderful dreamy quality. The album has a number of indie rock tracks like “Screaming” and “Lonely Hours” that feature Bugg’s signature electric guitar and a great setting for his more rock and roll vocals. “About Last Night” sounds like the should-be radio hit. “Lost” rides that fine line between club and pop hit, with a hypnotic combination of hooky bass lines and piano riffs. “Scene” was the song that initially caught my attention on this album. I like Bugg’s phrasing on the song and the production effects. A slow burn bit of ear candy. “Maybe It’s Today” has an early 1960s stroll-on-the-boardwalk feel, a bit of Spector, a bit of Springsteen, while “Downtown” is the lovely kind of piano ballad Bugg excels at. Hey there’s even a roots/folkie contribution with the acoustic guitar throwback “Hold Tight.”

Maybe It’s Today

The lyrics to “All I Need” album are the first words you hear on this album and they lay out Jake Bugg’s dilemma pretty clearly. With Saturday Night, Sunday Morning he tries to leave behind the pigeon hole both fans and critics would put him in. And he does – sort of. You see Bugg is sneaky bloke and in addition to this album he’s also released rootsy/folky versions of a number of the album songs. Best of both worlds? You bet. Check out the wicked stripped-down versions of “Kiss Like the Sun” and “Lost.” Or there’s the hypnotic acoustic-dance mix of the non-album single with CamelPhat, “Be Someone.”

Lost (acoustic version)
CamelPhat and Jake Bugg – Be Someone

I feel like the search is over. The Jake Bugg that appears on this album sounds like he knows who he is and what he’s doing. Hopefully everyone else will catch on.

On my one with Jake Bugg

05 Sunday Jun 2016

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Screen-Shot-2014-02-26-at-21.15.39September 2012 I casually checked out something called iTunes Festival on the Apple TV home screen and accidentally discovered Jake Bugg.  The feeling was electric.  Kinda like when I saw Tracy Chapman open for John Martyn in Manchester in 1988 three months before her breakthrough appearance at the Nelson Mandela concert at Wembley Stadium in London – everyone in that northern club knew we had just seen a major talent.  Bugg’s debut album came out in October and it did not disappoint.  Everything that made his iTunes performance amazing was there.  Shockingly, the album opened at number one on the British charts.

On My One

HUxSxDQ9Many have written about Jake Bugg’s youth, his songs, guitar playing, and singing style, but what struck me as special about Bugg was his authenticity.  His songs were all about working class life in middling England in the new millennium, something overlooked in most of popular culture.  Indeed, the absence of any cultural mirror for the experiences of working class youth in most western countries makes the occasional mention stand out in stark relief.  Bugg’s debut album gave voice to a generation left behind by the economy and the political class in songs like “Two Fingers,” “Seen It All,” and “Trouble Town.”  Sure, some fans and music writers just listened esthetically, hearing the folk, folk blues, and rudimentary rock and roll sound, but the ability to speak authentically about his community’s class experience touched a nerve for those who were listening.  However, after touring with the album for over a year, Bugg told journalists he doubted he could write about such experiences anymore because his life had changed so much.

Thankfully, Bugg was wrong, and his follow up record, Shangri La, kept developing themes of social inequality and class privilege (or the lack thereof) on tracks like “Messed Up Kids,” “Slumville Sunrise,” and “Kingpin.”  Bugg’s style was not that of the protest singer or Clash-like sloganeering, but more of an artist’s rendering, a portrait of the world as he saw it.  And, like Billy Bragg (another class-influenced singer-songwriter), he also wrote great love songs.

tumblr_o2lz6xwElZ1staqlfo1_250Bugg’s new album, On My One, is almost out and it appears to be similar to and different from his earlier material.  The social themes remain but he pushes himself artistically into new genres.  Growing up in the new century nobody consumes just one style of music so it was hardly surprising that Bugg’s talent could not be contained in just a few styles.  “On My One” evokes the lonely solo acoustic guitar sound of Don McLean’s American Pie album, specifically “Vincent” and “Till Tomorrow,” while drawing from Bugg’s experience as a performer on tour.  “Love, Hope and Misery” confirms Bugg’s talent for remaking the American blues ballad in his own style.  But my favourite amongst the currently available selections from the record is “Bitter Salt,” a song unlike anything Bugg has done to date, a catchy poprock effort with a punchy arrangement and solid hooks.

Bitter Salt

Though reviewers tend to suggest that Bugg is rather subdued in concert, he is well worth the ticket price if you can see him on tour.  Find out about his shows and recordings on his website and Facebook page.