Emotions Laid Bare On James Bruner's When I'm Down

This guitar led ballad from Nashville singer-songwriter James Bruner with its self-reflective lyric has splashes of Lennon (around his Mind Games era) in it’s vocal delivery but still holds up well on a contemporary level thanks to the rich production.

With a couple of big tours supporting Barns Courtney & alike under his belt, a brief exploration on Spotify shows Bruner’s overall canon veers more towards a straight up mainstream rock vibe but can understand why this track has been chosen to introduce him to the UK market.

The blend of backing vocals and slide guitar throughout give the track a distinctive sound and set it apart from other songs that sing about the well-trodden path of heartbreak & relationship breakup. At times in the verse, echoes of Lightbody’s ‘Chasing Cars’ can be felt but Bruner’s style is strong enough to hold its own on this poignant release about lessons learnt and moving on in life.

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