Album Review: 'Staying At Tamara's' from George Ezra

After his UK No. 1 debut album, Wanted On Voyage, George Ezra was hot property. His brand of gentle folk and light indie rock was well-received by radio audiences. A couple of years, a lot of touring, and some teaser singles later, anticipation is high for this, his sophomore effort.

He doesn’t disappoint. There’s an air of familiarity at first, as single ‘Don’t Matter Now’ has been an airwave staple since the summer of 2017. That done, ‘Pretty Shiny People’ pops out of the speakers as buoyant as its title suggests, with its summery clap-along, sing-along chorus – custom-built for a mass festival chant. These ebullient anthems are Ezra’s stock-in-trade. Not even the grinding, dirty low-down bass groove of ‘Get Away’ – sleazily funky in any other context – can stop Ezra from bringing his own breezier musicality to the track. We’re not talking Isaac Hayes here.

The introduction of tropical rhythms and melodies on tracks like this and ‘Sugarcoat’ – the production and musical textures on the latter recalling Paul Simon’s Graceland – affords the album an exotic quality: check out the flanged fretless bass and ethnic rhythms on ‘Shotgun’ and try not to think of Simon’s classic outing!

Inspired by Ezra’s own cross-continental travels, the album’s eclectic world music aesthetic reflects a multicultural journey that evokes all kinds of travelogue dreaming in the listener. Even the gorgeous ‘Saviour’ shines of pure Americana, with its country guitar lines, intricate bluegrass picking, brushed drums, and folky melody.

While comparisons with Ed Sheeran have been inevitable, Ezra is entirely his own man. Producer’s Cam Blackwell and Joel Pott match his big voice, drafting in backing singers that add to the euphoric quality of the songs. Staying At Tamara’s is unlikely to rattle any cages but it is well produced and joyfully performed and finally uplifting.

Record label:Columbia Records
Must listen to: 'Shotgun'
Rating: 7/10