A year since his last record, Jake Bugg is back on the music scene with his fourth album Hearts That Strain. An eleven-track wonder recorded in Nashville, it’s an album full of the quirky and unique sound of the Nottingham born singer.

At 23, and having just released his fourth album, Jake Bugg has shown that his unique voice and honest lyrics are here for the long run. This latest album recorded with the late Elvis Presleys band does’t disappoint, and includes a variety of styles – theres something for everyone.

How Soon Is The Dawn opens the album, a song which was released as a single earlier in the year, and the perfect track to showcase what this album is all about. It’s got a really nice melody (including harmonicas) and quite a sweet tone about it, but contrasted with quite raw and honest lyrics – a mixture of emotion and style that works so well together.

Track two, Southern Rain is all about the instrumentals for me, and while it was recorded in Nashville, the heart of country, it oozes with that country sound from the very start. It’s quite a repetitive song, but the hook is the chorus, and the way in which Bugg sings really draws you in.

In The Event Of My Demise is clever lyrically (and what a name for a song!). The chorus is brilliant and has a really catchy melody, it has that old school 80s feel about it. It’s a track with a lot of depth which shows off the vocals and instrumentals. One of my favourite’s on the album.

This Time is the weakest track on the album for me, and one that is maybe the most forgettable. It’s quite a sweet song, maybe too sweet because it’s not as powerful as it could be. It only just finds the right balance between instrumentals and vocals – the instrumentals almost seem to overpower his voice.

The only duet on the album, Waiting, sees Bugg collaborate with Noah Cyrus (younger sister of Miley). It’s nice to see a duet on the album and both their voices compliment each other really well – vocally it’s an exciting track. One of the best things about it is the brass solo – not many artists can get away with it. It’s nice to see something a bit different on the album.

This next song, The Man On Stage is one of my favourite songs on the record. It’s a sweet, honest ballad, one that shows the vulnerability in Buggs voice. It’s also a song that a lot of fangirls (or boys) can relate to. It’s a track about stage presence – loving an artist or actor for who they come across on stage, but who are not necessarily the same in person.

Title track, Hearts That Strain is quite a dark sounding song – one that stands out because of this – with equally dark lyrics. It’s brilliant, with the melody as the hook it really draws you in. He had a few darker songs in previous albums, and it’s quite refreshing to hear him carry this through.

In perfect succession, Burn Alone follows next. Ideal to follow Hearts That Strain because it’s the most upbeat track on the album. It’s a feel good sounding song that makes you want to get up and dance, while still having a fewer darker lyrics. It will be a great song to hear live, and they get the balance between instrumentals and vocals perfectly.

Song nine, Indigo Blue confused me at the very start. The first few chords are exactly the same as the opening chords in UK soap Hollyoaks (go Youtube it and you will see what I mean) but when you get past that it’s quite a beautiful song. Another weaker track on the album, the lyrics really make it – if they were’t so strong it would be quite a disappointing track.

Bigger Love is another fast paced song. Quite a complicated track it has a lot of depth which really shows off the vocals and instrumentals. The chorus is slower than the verses’ but it really works. It wouldn’t be a Jake Bugg album without a couple of faster songs and this one really works.

The final track, Every Colour In The World is brilliant in closing the album. A slower song, the lyrics are beautiful. They include: ‘From when I walked outside I noticed you there, and that you’d stolen every colour in the world’. I really love the guitar on this track and it shows off Bugg’s unique voice, what’s not to love?

Bugg says himself that he likes all his songs to have and element of darkness, or joy if its a dark song, and that sums up his latest release. It’s a brilliantly clever way of producing music – one that really works. He mixes beautiful lyrics with exciting fast paced melodys and darker lyrics with stunning and often simple instrumentals. It’s an album which shows the culmination of his previous three records and my only critique is that while all the songs on here are brilliant there isn’t really (except for maybe How Soon Is The Dawn and Burn Alone) any stand out songs that make you really go wow like Lightening Bolt, Two Fingers or Taste It did in the past. But either way it’s an album really worth listening to, not just because Bugg’s style is different, but because it shows the amazing talent of a 23 year old who rose to fame purely for his music.