Reviewed by Phil Taylor (see his Music Observer blog here)
Release date 01/09/23
Jersey Budd is a Leicester-based singer-songwriter with a very distinct sound. His music riffs on contemporary themes of Americana (which itself is naturally steeped in the richness of tradition), setting that against a very English approach. The result: warm, nostalgic and eminently relatable tunes.
Budd made his recording debut in 2008, with the release of a full album (Wonderlands) and since then he has released two EPs and another album (The Gathering Dust in 2017), and become a well-known figure on the live circuit, in Leicester and well beyond. Leicester City FC fans will probably know him well, or at least his cover of the club’s anthem, now its pre-match tune, When You’re Smiling.
This solid reputation has clearly been built up through a lot of hard work – and this work ethic, and the grounded confidence it produces, is clearly evident throughout Budd’s new EP Easy Come, Easy Go.
The four-track record is set for release on 1st September.
The opening and title track, Easy Come, Easy Go, was released as a single on 6th August and immediately won positive acclaim, not to mention immediately being chosen as BBC Leicester’s track of the week. It’s easy to hear why: it’s the kind of song which grabs you straight away with a certain mellow, wistful appeal.
Two bars of jangly guitar to set the scene, in come the drums, and here’s Budd hot on their heels, jumping in with an appealing eagerness. Another day goes by are his opening words – a clever lyrical approach, defying the listener to turn away now. From then on to its fade-out just over three minutes later, the song doesn’t miss a beat, setting and keeping a relaxing but driving pace.
The song – and the EP as a whole – is strikingly easy to listen to, thanks to the rich, thoughtfully-layered production and – of course – Budd’s honest vocal approach. He takes the good old American tradition of telling down-to-Earth stories (echoes of Springsteen, Dylan, Muddy Waters and countless more) and translates that to the here and now, creating something both timeless and contemporary.
The stage has well and truly been set now for the remainder of the EP. The Last Time is track two: this one comes in strong with an unapologetically Country & Western sound, guitars of all flavours (strongly plucked acoustic, electric, and – yes – pedal steel), a relaxed yet swaggering pace, and a vocal line which is heart-rendingly authentic in its simply stated yearning. You can almost smell the dust and see the golden sunset light. It’s a huge track and really acts as an anchor for the whole record.
Change of Heart takes us down a slightly different road, and perhaps further back in time: there’s a strikingly timeless, bordering on old-fashioned (in the timeless, authentic sense) feel to the structuring and the main riff, which repeats throughout the song. Despite the introspective, love-focused theme, it’s a light-hearted detour which will leave you smiling before you move on.
Closing track Something Inside takes a turn back to that lazy-river feel of the opener, Budd effortlessly crooning his way along a road which is well-trodden but ripe for re-interpretation. There’s a ballad feel, but pumped up with a firm, leading drumline. The song has a sound thoroughly steeped, again, in all the best American tropes; there’s nostalgia, romance, and over it all, one man and his weeping guitar. Budd totally owns this one.
With this EP, it feels like Budd has cemented his place in the genre, and announced his intentions to lead us into the next chapter of his own story.
Tracklisting
2. The Last Time
3. Change Of Heart
4. Something Inside
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