Artist: James Blunt

Album: Once Upon a Mind

Released: 10/25/2019

Label: Atlantic Records UK

Genre: Pop

James Blunt’s most recent album, Once Upon a Mind is a very personal record depicting loss and the milestones in life that go with it. Fans may recognize Blunt’s voice- and that’s because he wrote the hit Ballad “You’re Beautiful” which dropped back in 2004 and claimed No. 1 on the Billboard top 100 charts,  was nominated for 3 gramnmy awards, 3 MTV awards, and one Brit Award. 

The only way I recognized him was his voice. Blunt broke away from the ballad and is moving right along with modern styles of music. Though nothing like most of what’s on the radio, Blunt’s newest album is influenced by what is popular, with faced paced, almost staccato lyrics in the verses, and yet his age shows with his songs “Monsters” and “I told you.”. The first mentioned song is talking about Blunt’s loss of his father, and his want to have his journey to the afterlife be as smooth as possible. The latter mentioned deals with a child of his moving away from home, and starting their life and their journey to becoming an adult. 

All in all, this isn’t a bad album and it is very well composed. I was happy to not receive an album with ‘You’re Beautiful’ written 10 different times, and yet I also didn’t receive an album that seemed like a total cash grab. Listen to this album if you like bands like Mumford and Sons, smooth almost folk-type music, and be ready for a modern twist. I would suggest The two aforementioned songs, Monsters and I Told You So, just because they moved me so much. James Blunt goes on tour starting in Prague later this year, and will continue throughout 2020.