Soulful British crooner {|James Blunt|}'s wistful debut infuses the listener -- in order -- with rainy-day hope, the wistful comfort of unattainable love, and finally, world-weary resignation. While his parched falsetto recalls {|Gasoline Alley|}-era... Read more

Soulful British crooner {|James Blunt|}'s wistful debut infuses the listener -- in order -- with rainy-day hope, the wistful comfort of unattainable love, and finally, world-weary resignation. While his parched falsetto recalls {|Gasoline Alley|}-era {|Rod Stewart|} with a healthy dose of {|Antony and the Johnsons|}, it's the late {|Elliott Smith|} who casts the largest shadow on {|Back to Bedlam|}. Predictable but effective four-chord guitar motifs are the chosen vehicle for the ex-Royal Armed Forces soldier, and when they connect ({|Wiseman,|} {|Goodbye My Lover,|} {|You Are Beautiful|}), it's like a Dear John letter from a lover who you know will remain a close but ultimately guarded friend. Opening track {|High|} sets a determined midtempo pace that rarely wanes -- it's like an acoustic version of {|Drive|} by {|the Cars|} with a {|Coldplay|} chorus. It's a pace that would sink some records, but {|Bedlam|}'s perfectly rendered, under 40-minute run time ensures that the listener doesn't suffer from a melancholy overdose. {|Blunt|} recounts his harrowing experiences as part of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo on the closer, {|No Bravery,|} and it's a shock to hear all of the romantic lyricism that informed {|Bedlam|} up to this point reduced to Old men kneel and accept their fate/Wives and daughters cut and raped/A generation drenched in hate, but it's damn effective -- as is the majority of this fine debut. ~ James Christopher Monger Less