With his smoky baritone and lyrics about wanderlust, romance, and European boot leather, British singer/songwriter
George Ezra
offers up a 21st century pop take on the wandering young troubadour with his debut LP
Wanted on Voyage
. Though he cites influences like
Woody Guthrie
and
Lead Belly
,
Ezra
's music has more in common with the contemporary folk-pop of strummers like
Vance Joy
Jake Bugg
, with a bit of blue-eyed soul thrown in for good measure. Scrappy romps likes "Cassy O'" and his breakout track "Budapest" sit alongside quirky, synth-laden indie pop tunes like "Stand by Your Gun" and moody dirges like "Spectacular Rival," offering up enough diversity to keep things interesting. ~ Timothy Monger