A Modern Day Distraction Jake Bugg

• 1 Zombieland 02:42
• 2 Track 2 02:47
• 3 Track 3 02:31
• 4 Track 4 03:38
• 5 Track 5 03:15
• 6 Track 6 02:42
• 7 Track 7 03:25
• 8 Track 8 03:14
• 9 Track 9 03:17
• 10 Track 10 02:51
• 11 Track 11 04:12
• 12 Track 12 05:11
• Total Runtime 39:45

Info for A Modern Day Distraction

UK rock troubadour, Jake Bugg, returns with his sixth album A Modern Day Distraction, on RCA records.

A bone-crunching Beatles-via-Nirvana guitar driven banger, ‘Zombieland’ is a rollicking ode to the many broken by the inescapable daily grind, trudging on with a stiff upper lip. “It’s fucking brutal,” he says of the people he’s known who exist in “a constant cycle of working to live”. “They’re not paid what they’re worth. People have the same routine every day, they’re at work more than they see their kids, then the government puts the retirement age up. It’s not right.”

Produced by Metrophonic at Metrophonic Studios in London, Jake returns to his roots on the rock-driven A Modern Day Distraction – a record that turns up the noise while shining a light on the injustice he’s seen dealt to the family and friends he grew up with. Fiery and engaged, the record was born out of a frustration of societal inequality. Bugg found that a time had come when he just couldn’t look away. “People might say ‘What do you know?’ or ‘Just stick to music’. I’ve got a bit of money, but we all know the people this affects. I was just writing it because it was the way I felt. It pisses me off – especially in a country like ours where we have the means and funds to take care of the people suffering the most, but we choose not to.”

Now 12 years and six albums since he emerged with his streetwise and spritely, Mercury-nominated, chart-topping, self-titled debut, one might forget he was just 18 at the time. He’s put in the hours and achieved so much, but he’s only 30 and still seeing the front rows of his shows getting younger.

In that spirit, Bugg still feels his best work is ahead of him: “You just have to put your songs out into the universe and hope for the best.”

Jake Bugg

Jake Bugg
Recorded in London, Los Angeles and Nottingham, highlights are many and include the moving ‘Love Hope And Misery’ driven by a huge chorus, the stomping ‘Bitter Salt’, the soulful ‘Never Wanna Dance’ and the defining title track.

For all its diversity, the heartbeat of ‘On My One’ is the blues. “Blues is my favourite genre,” Jake admits. “Whether it’s soul or hip hop, it all stems from the blues. To me the blues just means singing your emotions and expressing your pain so others can feel it. That’s the beauty of music. If nothing else, I’d like to think I’ve done that with this record.”

To make three albums by the age of 21 is no mean feat. To singlehandedly make ‘On My One’ shapeshifting effortlessly from blues to pop, rap to folk and soul to country through great songwriting is nothing short of remarkable. Enjoy the ride.

This album contains no booklet.