3.5 out of 5 stars

You may recognize James Blunt from your local radio station – currently, he’s the one they play 200 times a day, singing ‘You’re Beautiful’ to some unknown lady-friend he probably met during his days in the army.

Lately, Blunt has been much more satisfied crooning his way into the hearts of listeners with his brand of smooth acoustic ballads, and easy listening folk rock tunes.

The only problem is, its been done before. Aside from second single ‘High’ which is probably the highlight of the album, if not one of the songs of the year, it sounds like Blunt took the best pages from a few books on how to create a great acoustic album.

Which is to say that Back to Bedlam, despite sounding incredibly familiar to the average listener, is actually a great album. As mentioned, High is probably the highlight track, but Wisemen, No Bravery, and So Long Jimmy (acoustic soul at its best) are also stand out tracks. Overall, Back to Bedlam is a good listen, and definitely one to own if you are a fan of the acoustic-folk-rock style. If it is a unique sound you are after, then this one might not be for you.