Shangri La
by Jake Bugg
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
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  1. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 15, 2013
    100
    If it's not quite the jump from Bob Dylan to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, it's the closest recent equivalent, a prodigious rate of development for such a tyro talent, all the more remarkable for not being reliant on significant musical progression, so much as raw songwriting ability.
  2. Clash Music
    Nov 15, 2013
    90
    On Shangri La he has captured everything cleanly and sparsely to really let Jake’s storytelling shine. The resulting exposure makes for a mature and remarkable album.
  3. Mojo
    Nov 21, 2013
    80
    The diversity and quality of his songwriting should be even harder to ignore on this second. [Dec 2013, p.84]
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  5. Q Magazine
    Nov 21, 2013
    80
    It confirms the suspicion that Bugg really could go all the way to the top. [Dec 2013, p.106]
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  6. musicOMH.com
    Nov 18, 2013
    80
    Smug, smarmy, metropolitan critics might declare the album generic and derivative, but the kid undeniably has tunes--more tunes than such people have ever written even in their wildest rock star fantasies.
  7. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Nov 18, 2013
    80
    As an exercise in expanded range, Shangri La is too diverse and distinct to dismiss.
  8. Entertainment Weekly
    Nov 15, 2013
    75
    [Bugg] mostly stays in the pocket of his Gatorade-ad-assisted hit "Lightning Bolt." [22 Nov 2013, p.64]
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  9. Rolling Stone
    Nov 19, 2013
    70
    At times his folkier moments can be a touch too comfy. He's best when he pushes at the confines of his throwback sound.
  10. New Musical Express (NME)
    Nov 18, 2013
    60
    Shangri La is basically more of the same, and for many of his fans, that’ll be more than enough. It would be a shame, however, if it was enough for Bugg, too.
  11. The Observer (UK)
    Nov 18, 2013
    60
    There's an endearing, if slight love song in Me and You but the attempt at social commentary (Messed Up Kids) is a lot less successful.
  12. The Fly (UK)
    Nov 20, 2013
    50
    Though Shangri La is at least entertaining, it’s without that lasting, killer incision that will guarantee longevity.
  13. Drowned In Sound
    Nov 18, 2013
    50
    A solidly built celebration of interchangeable ordinariness.
  14. PopMatters
    Feb 3, 2014
    40
    As much as the album’s production seems to (want to) suggest Bugg’s artistic growth, the songs, when you pick them apart, don’t show much in the way of maturation.
  15. AllMusic
    Nov 18, 2013
    40
    Rubin skillfully retains a veneer of authenticity throughout Shangri La, adhering to the Dylan in Greenwich Village vibe of the 2012 debut and never letting the electric expansion feel like exploitation, but all this care is applied to songs that are deliberately slight.
  16. The Guardian
    Nov 15, 2013
    40
    It sounds as ordinary as he claims to be.
  17. Los Angeles Times
    Nov 19, 2013
    37
    The result isn't the clean-up job it might've been; Bugg, 19, still sings with a nasal edge that wouldn't last more than a round on "American Idol." Yet the songwriting here feels more evened-out, less appealingly pugnacious than it did last time.

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Most Discussed Album of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 74
  3. Negative: 7 out of 74
  1. Teodoro
    Jun 20, 2014
    10
    A crítica pode não ter o aclamado como aclamou seu album de estréia,mas o album não foi descepcionante,veio com mais guitarra,menos folk,RickA crítica pode não ter o aclamado como aclamou seu album de estréia,mas o album não foi descepcionante,veio com mais guitarra,menos folk,Rick Rubin soube manusear esse menino.
    Tinha medo de ele vir com um péssimo album,mas veio com um tão bom quanto o primeiro.    … Full Review »
  2. CriticoDubioso
    May 26, 2014
    3
    Jake Bugg loves to spout off about the superficiality of modern music while peddling social commentary so facile it makes Taio Cruz sound likeJake Bugg loves to spout off about the superficiality of modern music while peddling social commentary so facile it makes Taio Cruz sound like Chomsky. "The messed up kids are on the corner with no money/ Beautiful girls with eyes so dark beneath their sockets," whines Bugg, as if poverty was something he discovered after reading Junk in year 10. Jake Bugg claims to be an enemy of contemporary culture, but he's really an enemy of complexity and anything that isn't just bashing a guitar going "It's **** isn't it" ?… Full Review »
  3. suweor
    Apr 27, 2014
    10
    Nada más que decir sobre el álbum de Jake Bugg, Shangri La, ha superado totalmente mis expectativas, va de un tono más eléctrico en cancionesNada más que decir sobre el álbum de Jake Bugg, Shangri La, ha superado totalmente mis expectativas, va de un tono más eléctrico en canciones como Slumville Sunrise o What Doesn't Kill You a canciones como Simple Pleasures o Pine Trees o Kitchen Table, e incluso algo más country como Storm Passes Away. Sin duda de los mejores álbumes del año.… Full Review »
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