James+blunt

On his fifth full-length, The Afterlove, British singer James Blunt makes a risky shift in his sensitive-guy-with-a-guitar sound, opting for a taut collection that tugs at the heartstrings with polished pop sheen. The slight departure seems to be a conscious decision, as the confidently self-aware Blunt sings that he "would have said 'you're beautiful'/but I used that line before," referencing his inescapable 2005 smash single. Recruiting OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and Ed Sheeran on production, writing, and occasional backing vocals (the trio even joins forces on the pastoral "Time of Our Lives"), Blunt presents his most mainstream offering yet. Indeed, at certain points, his trademark wounded falsetto drifts into Adam Levine territory, turning songs like the soaring "Bartender," the pulsing "California," and the shimmering "Lose My Number" into the best Maroon 5 songs released in 2017.

The Greatest Singer-Songwriter Hits is the beginning of a new concept around the greatest hits and names in the singer-songwriter genre. This 2CD contains the greatest hits of the current generation of singer-songwrtiters, including: Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Hozier, Paolo Nutini, Ben Howard, James Bay, Dotan and Damien Rice and more…

Considered one of the finest counter tenors of his generation, Ryland Angel makes the switch from the rarefied world of Baroque music – which established him as an international star – to the land of pop classical on his lushly produced major-label debut. While some of the press materials tried to link him to more pop oriented singer/songwriters like Aaron Neville, James Taylor and James Blunt, Angel's stunningly beautiful, ethereal and transcendent voice will appeal just as much to fans of Josh Groban. But while Groban always aims for the big pop hook and crescendo, Angel is a little more traditional, letting most of these tracks build their feelings slowly, drifting over a colorful ambient landscape.

If you're a lesser-known artist, promotion before your debut album release is essential. Having a track picked for a national TV advert is a fantastic way of doing so. It might be luck that Jon Allen's track 'Going Home' appeared on the Land Rover advert, but take a listen to the album and you'll find that the high-level of music making is consistent throughout, if not even better. Dead Man Suit is already seeing a growing momentum and Allen's reputation is increasing with it. This 12-track album consists of racy popfolk and blues with chiselled, grainy vocals and a few self-pitying lyrics, the quality of which makes James Blunt end up sounding like his own surname. Vocally, Allen can be compared to a whole host of singers from the ruggedness of a young Rod Stewart to more recent singer-songwriters such as James Morrison.

Slightly more experienced than the ranks of artists discovered online, Danish singer/songwriter Mads Langer had already released two studio albums through Copenhagen Records before impressing Sony bosses with his MySpace-uploaded acoustic EP, Fact - Fiction. Pop - Or??? Despite his new major-label deal, an impressive array of producers including Martin Terefe (KT Tunstall), Ethan Allen (Tricky), and Sacha Skarbek (Bon Jovi), and a backing vocalist in the shape of Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins, his third effort, Behold, is entirely void of bombastics or studio trickery, sticking closely to the emotive Nordic guitar-based pop sound that helped him to get signed in the first place.