The Inside Pulse
James Blunt’s debut record is one filled with light, emotionally fragile ballads. This is this year’s Dido, ladies and gentlemen. Lots of folks have seen this guys’ heartwrenching video for the single ‘video’, where he slowly takes off most of his clothes, sits crosslegged while taking off his shoes and watch and pocketchange and alligns them all cute-like, then jumps off a cliff into a body of water while singing about sharing a moment with a beautiful girl on the subway. It’s nice. I appreciated it’s simplicity and grace, and I can appreciate an artist going for a certain tone and acheiving it, even though I’m not really a ‘ballad’ guy, per se. The rest of the album is incredibly similar to the single, where James sings in his pretty falsetto about lost love and intimate moments from the past. This is pretty much a guaranteed awesome christmas disc for the sentimental guy or gal in your life who owns at least one contemporary rock disc already. Make sure first, though.
The Positives
James Blunt is what I’d lovingly refer to as Mallcore, something that just about nobody would have a problem with, and that many people would absolutely love. It’s sentimental ballad music, but the guy sounds just so heartbroken all the time that I believe that he’s lived through each of his stories. I can’t fault the songwriting either, as James definitely has a talent for weaving a verse into something memorable. Even when he’s singing the simplest things like “Goodbye my lover” where he sings “I’m so hollow/I’m so hollow baby” it works, and you end up hurting with him. But most people will buy this album based on the strength of the single “Beautiful”, and I have to say that it’s a damn excellent ballad with absolutely no flaws, except for that little blip at the beginning where he sings the first line twice for no apparent reason (you know what I mean if you’ve heard it. It just sounds wrong). I bet you anything it’ll be the love making album of the season.
The Negatives
While James does everything within the formula really well, you’ve heard this song and dance before. There’s nothing particularly hip about James, especially in two months when he’ll be the favorite singer of wine drinking married women with kids worldwide. Also, if you like your male singers to sound madly, go with someone like Jason Webley or Jack Johnson instead.
Cross-Breed
The songwriting talent of Dido with Jamiroquay’s voice.
Reason to buy
You need to get someone special a great stocking stuffer that you need a guarantee of quality. James Blunt is new, he’s flawless (for what he does) and he’s almost certain to get you laid. In either direction.
