Shangri La

2013 sophomore album from the British singer/songwriter. The album shares its title with the Malibu studio where it was made, once the '70s haven of Bob Dylan and The Band, now the creative hub of legendary producer Rick Rubin, the recording titan whose jaw dropping c.v. spans from Def Jam and Johnny Cash to Adele and Kanye West. Rubin's assembled wrecking crew of Shangri La session regulars includes guitarist Matt Sweeney, bassist Jason Lader, and drummers Chad Smith and Pete Thomas. Yet for all its stellar cast and production kudos, the real star of Shangri La is, unquestionably, Bugg himself. Asked to compare Shangri La with its predecessor, Bugg concludes: 'My first album felt like a list of songs, whereas this one feels like a whole entity with something to say. Or if my first album was the color of grey reality, this one's the color of the sun'. The color of our planet's nearest star. Or maybe the sound of a new star intensifying their musical colors.