What constitutes a distraction in the modern day? Jake Bugg sets off to find out with his latest album, A Modern Day Distraction. Inevitably these distractions are tied to what we do not need reminders of. The mind whirrs at a thousand miles an hour and the last thing we need to create a successful thought is new material from Bugg. Solid, if ineffective guitar work to guide us through a tribute to the Woody Harrelson-starring Zombieland. A fascinating opener used as a tool to hide yourself away from a world which feels more like the intro to Shaun of the Dead than a living, breathing experience. Bugg holds the world to account in as simple and plain a tone as possible, a shame since his emotive ideas are of intense worth. The writing lets it down, and the instrumentals do not do much better.
What follows through instead is a very plain mixture which holds itself to the generalised indie rock sound a little too closely. Those lyrical duds follow on with All Kinds of People. A say-what-you-see style of tonal indifference is a shame to pair with Bugg, an artist who sounds as though he is on the cusp of something interesting so often, and yet has little to show for his potential ideas through A Modern Day Distraction. Push aside those singles and head into the album proper with Breakout, a short and uneventful track. Bugg makes music of an extremely passive variety, and it means making heads or tails of his theme or thoughts is an indifferent endeavour. Why bother? A Modern Day Distraction may rail against those who seek out ways to curb their view of the day, but Bugg has made one himself. His instrumental style keeps him afloat here.
Even then, it is not a miraculous rediscovery of what a guitar can do. Never Said Goodbye is the mandatory soppy inclusion but Bugg makes the most of it, a decent track in a mixture of forgettable items. It sounds a bit like denser Oasis tracks, the relatively plain guitar work and the nasally vocals come together for a fine time. Ultimately uneventful music. It is the dull scope of artists buying drinks and busting through life as though these experiences are unique. Will they resonate, yes? Most of us have been to the sticky-floored clubs where A Modern Day Distraction finds its meaning, but there is only so much you can do while there. Bugg never leaves, and it does not sound like he is going anywhere in particular with this release.
A Modern Day Distraction has little going for it but the slight pieces which work, the All That I Needed Was You variety of songwriting, is well-placed. Keep on Moving is much the same experience – a song which sounds better than it is for the dreck surrounding it. Still, to expect much more from the man still ending his sets with Lightning Bolt is perhaps a step too far. A Modern Day Distraction is the epitome of fine. Music which will neither destroy your day nor make it better, just noise for a half hour to distract yourself. Quite the irony, given what Bugg is trying to do here, but his fundamental range is limited and the writing is no better than the carbon copies of this style heard across the UK.
