Album Review: Jake Bugg, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning

With a swaggering confidence, Jake Bugg leaps unapologetically into the mainstream pop world with his fifth studio album, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. It’s a move that should feel like a bold departure, particularly following his Nashville adventures on 2017’s Hearts That Strain – but from clap-along gospel-pop (‘All I Need’) to foot-stomping anthems, the new album feels slightly out of pace with the current innovations re-shaping the face of pop. Of course, as an artist who wears his Oasis influences on his sleeve, staying on top of the latest contemporary sounds has never been part of Bugg’s vision.

True to its title, the album is an apt exploration of the highs and lows of the weekend – addressing both the euphoria and the inevitable comedown. In doing so, the songs on Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, particularly ‘About Last Night’ and ‘Rabbit Hole’, embrace the single most important aspect of a great pop song – a strange irresistibility, driven by the power of a ridiculously catchy hook.

Bugg pulls back from the elation occasionally, most notably on the piano-centred ‘Downtown’, but the album nonetheless lacks the warm vulnerability of Hearts That Strain, as well as the seemingly effortless spontaneity and heart of his earlier work. While there's no doubt that the Nottingham star is having plenty of fun here – and inviting us to do the same – there are surely bolder adventures on Bugg's horizon.

6/10