The hip may find him unredeemably uncool, and his voice is definitely a bit of an acquired taste, but James Blunt’s songs are well-crafted, articulate, often accessibly personal, and speak to a broad audience of wildly enthusiastic fans. It helps that he has a nice line in self-deprecation; famously he started a 2022 concert by saying this was a greatest hit (singular) evening, and he was going to play You’re Beautiful about 22 times.<\/p>\n
He’s touring his seventh studio album Who We Used To Be<\/em>, a decent collection of songs about love, loss, self-discovery and personal growth of \u2013 so the lyrical mix much as before \u2013 that blends elements of folk, pop, upbeat rock and even housey beats (as on the new album\u2019s first single, Beside You<\/a>: a possibly relevant fact is that Blunt has a house on Ibiza). The album divided critics (“one of Blunt’s best albums to date” vs “completely tedious and unmemorable”) but Blunt always puts on a good show, so we’re happy to recommend this one …<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"