Blunt packs a punch in short but evocative debut.

Byline: The Register-Guard and news service reports

Back to Bedlam 

James Blunt

(Atlantic)

Rarely does an artist break into the pop music scene in the United States without the help of one major hit that resonates with thousands of 13 year-olds. It's not easy finding the right mix of excitement, nostalgia and angst to appeal to the 21- to 35 year-old audience without coming off as trying too hard.

British artist James Blunt has done just that. In his debut album, "Back to Bedlam," Blunt has created a collection of songs that could have been written by any of us - if only any of us were that talented and articulate.

Blunt, who was in Eugene in November as the opening act for Jason Mraz at the Hult Center, creates scenes with his lyrics that are imaginatively potent and hypnotically real.

While listening to the album, it seems that this could be someone's living room, into which the listener has stumbled accidentally to overhear these poignant and sometimes painful songs.

Tunes such as "Goodbye My Lover" and "No Bravery" evoke such strong feeling from Blunt that it seems painful for him to even sing the words. The result is a passionate and powerful performance that leaves the listener wanting more and yearning to know what happens next, as if the songs are a brief scene in a bigger movie.

"Goodbye My Lover" picks at the heartstrings of anyone who's been in love, fallen out of love, been brokenhearted or even thought about what true love must be like.

Blunt intimately shares his agony over lost love: "I've kissed your lips and held your head/ Shared your dreams and shared your bed/ I know you well, I know your smell/ I've been addicted to you."

In "No Bravery," Blunt takes his experiences as a soldier in Kosovo and spins them into a story that could be told of any war, from the perspective of an observant outsider seeing the tragic reality of war firsthand.

The album is produced by Tom Rothrock, who also produced works by Beck and the late Elliott Smith. Like Smith, Blunt weaves story lines in his songs that make us want to hear each word and to try to understand what he was thinking at the time he was writing it.

Also like Smith, Blunt's music has enough mainstream appeal to attract a large following, and include some upbeat tracks to counter the mellow ones.

"Back to Bedlam" is an impressive first album and one that is rich enough in substance to overcome its relative short length - a shade under 40 minutes.

- Tyler Mack,

The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

James Blunt draws on his own experiences for material for his songs, including a stint as a peacekeeper in Kosovo.