When English–born artist James Blunt released his first single, “You’re Beautiful,” in the U.S. in 2005, it transported him from the cozy home studio of his producer, Tom Rothrock, to an international stage. The song skyrocketed to the top of countless music charts, and Blunt became the first British artist since Elton John, nearly ten years before, to secure Billboard Top 100’s coveted number one spot. But not many people can tell you what’s happened to Blunt’s career since 2005.
Striving to stay away from what he believes is “a dirty place called Mainstream” and return to a more poignant intimacy with his music, Blunt released his newest album, “Moon Landing.” Except it seems like he’s the only one who experienced the intimacy he gunned for with this album.
Although the album’s themes encompass the concepts of both blossoming and failing love, seemingly relatable matters that should trigger emotions in many listeners, his songs are far from cathartic. As Blunt’s quavering vocals prance around melodramatic lyrics, the album’s instrumentation lacks in variation and artistry, making it unintentionally depressing. The opening piano in “Heart–to–Heart,” sounds like a direct sample from Five for Fighting’s “100 Years,” while the guitar in “Miss America” is reminiscent of the computer–generated rifts you might hear playing Guitar Hero.
The most ridiculous and perplexing part of the album is the aforementioned ballad, “Miss America,” a tribute to the late Whitney Houston. Opening with the fairy–tale like resonation of what seems to be a harp, the song leads into a chorus of: “No goodbyes you’ll always be Miss America/We watched you fly but nothing’s free, Miss America/And as you fall apart we just call it odd/Was it so hard to breathe.”
Which really just begs the question—why on earth is James Blunt writing a song about Whitney Houston? What does this have to do with the whining about relationships that’s happening on all the other tracks? Also, how did this end up as the most listenable track on the album?
Blunt commented that he had created “Moon Landing” for himself and not any one audience; the album’s inability to establish a relationship with its listeners and its lack of cohesive sound or meaning makes this statement unquestionably apparent.
Grade: D+
Download: “Miss America”
Sounds best when: You’d like to feel uninspired.
