James Blunt made up for his last album that was too mainstream pop/fake music/too Ed Sheeran-esque since that’s who helped him write his last album. This album his sixth brings back his great storytelling in the verses and his catchy choruses that are easy to remember. It also brings back the emotional tone you get from hearing him sing his heart out. He also shows his musical range by playing acoustic guitar and piano. He has gotten more upbeat/happier since his debut album “Back to Bedlam” gradually over each album that followed, and this album definitely has a more positive tone to it with encouraging songs. He still gets you with a few very deeply sad songs that reminds you he can still get you and make you cry.
The three biggest examples of this are piano based tracks “Monsters”, “How it feels to be alive” and “Stop the clock”. Monsters actually made me cry because it’s song about a real life thing happening to him about his father battling stage four chronic kidney disease who is waiting for a donor. He will now be there to protect him from bad things/accepting he has to say goodbye to him. While “Stop the clock” is a sad song about mortality and it should be his last song because its talking about the end but the only bad thing there is a woman singing oddly/“Hey” is being shouted in different parts that shouldn’t be in it. “How it feels to be alive” is his usual very old-school depressing song that like always paints a very vivid picture.
Songs like “The Truth”, “Cold” and “Halfway” are what you would expect catchy songs that you can hear him sing emotionally while playing the guitar. Another song that also is an example of this is “Youngster” which has an interesting take on growing older with a touch of his relationship with his mother. The “worst” song is “5 Miles” it actually has a happier tone to it with a blend of both piano and guitar but has fake music in it to cancel that out, plus it’s about asking a girl out doesn’t really fit his style about bragging about a car.
His usual style is sad/depressing songs about heartbreak and loss but with great story telling that, as he’s grown from album to album making more happier/uplifting/upbeat songs there are three that really stand out: “Champions” “I Told you” and “Greatest”. Champions is all about taking risks in life for the chance to come out on top and that you shouldn’t look back just take that leap of faith. The other two songs “I told you” and “Greatest” are both songs with messages directed at his daughter. That in “I told you” he talks about always being there for her no matter if he is no longer around that no matter the struggles he will be there. While the last song on the album “Greatest” which has great piano where the uplifting message he tells his daughter that even thought he might have failed as father he knows that she will one day be great, that she can change the world.