Jake Bugg
Hearts That Strain

It is not easy to approach writing a review on the new work of an artist who until the other day was considered one of the greatest promises of world music. Ok, the label of "new Bob Dylan" seemed quite blasphemous (and the comparison probably ended up harming the very young singer-songwriter) but Jake Bugg's debut album was truly beautiful and timeless. Unfortunately, it was followed by a second album that was so-so and a third of rare ugliness that saw the poor former aspiring minstrel dealing with electronics and rap (?!).

So, the now 23-year-old Jake decides - with his fourth album, "Hearts That Strain" - to return to his roots, retreating to Nashville and recording the album with a fine handful of local heroes, including: The Memphis Boys, Bobby Woods, Gene Chrisman, and the omnipresent Dan Auerbach.

Bugg embraces the acoustic guitar once again and lets himself go to the melodies dearest and most fitting to him in an album essentially to be divided into two halves: the first more sunny and the second darker, with "Waiting," the soul duet with Noah Cyrus, Miley's little sister, acting as a watershed.

This album is not a masterpiece, there is no hit inside, yet it is a work that is definitely more focused and coherent from start to finish compared to its predecessor (with the small digression of the rock 'n' roll of "I Can Burn Alone") and it very much feels like a new beginning.