“It’s 10 years since my debut came out,” Jake Bugg told fans at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. Well, not quite, as October marks the official milestone. Not that Bugg’s legion of fans cared. Pints were chucked in the air amid a near-constant mosh pit of young men who were there to have fun no matter the facts.
The fans’ raucousness, however, didn’t match Bugg’s mild-mannered stage presence nor the trundling pulse of his largely folk-meets-rockabilly ditties. His rugged voice carried well above strums and skiffle beats, particularly on crowd-favourites Broken and Lightning Bolt from his 2012 self-titled debut. But the Nottingham troubadour never seemed to throw himself much into the thrill of live performing.
This was even the case when he shredded his guitar impressively for epic solos, which somehow aren’t so well highlighted on record. He also barely moved on the unadorned stage, bookending songs with a nondescript “thank you very much” and rattling through numbers as quickly as possible.
Fans were assured on a rare departure from his “thank yous” that it was “an absolute pleasure” to be playing again. And it was one of the first opportunities to hear the more compelling sounds of Bugg’s latest album (2021’s Saturday Night, Sunday Morning), away from the less distinct rootsy tunes that littered his set.
In fact, Bugg dedicated at least half of his performance to airing his new album’s material, from the disco-inspired stomper Lost to the slinky pop thrust of About Last Night. The latter heard Bugg sing well in a higher register, providing respite from his sometimes grating growls and yaps. Lonely Hours, which features a jagged indie rock riff reminiscent of Bloc Party, also heard him pierce the song’s lively clatter with bolder notes.
The acoustic and piano-driven ballad Downtown, another cut from his 2021 album, allowed for full focus on Bugg who was isolated on stage by a single spotlight. The light’s warm, orange hue helped colour the thought of a friend following Bugg “downtown… summer nights we go raving”, as detailed in the song lyrics.
Tellingly though, it was Bugg’s older material that best engaged the crowd, including Seen It All from his debut as well as Simple Pleasures and What Doesn’t Kill You from his 2013 album, Shangri La. An unreleased song had a modest reaction, as did his 2020 single Saviours of the City. They contributed to the overriding feeling that it was a gig of mixed results led by the boy who a decade ago was touted as the next Bob Dylan. Despite his talents, more star quality is needed if that comparison is to ring true.
