Combining angelic good looks with a rumbling baritone, George Ezra Barnett sang his way into the hearts of millions with Budapest, a ballad about swapping grand pianos for grand romance.
His debut, Wanted on Voyage, went four times platinum, staying in the UK charts for 122 weeks, and Sir Ian McKellen even appeared in one of his music videos.
Album number two, Staying at Tamara’s, is out next month. And to whet the appetite the 24-year-old came to the intimate surroundings of Shoreditch Town Hall to showcase some of his new material.
Ezra’s clearly now seen by his record label as a worthy investment: his band has expanded to include a horn section and there were umpteen guitar changes. The music has evolved, too. Set opener Paradise has a lively electric feel and a chorus catchier than the common cold. Get Away, meanwhile, is all rubbery bass and soaring harmonies.
“All these songs are about escaping and dreaming,” said Ezra, revealing he upped sticks to Spain to write the new record. Alas, Barcelona, a schmaltzy ballad offering zero insights into the city in which he sojourned, has nothing on his calling card Budapest. There were some fairly clunky lyrics in evidence, too. “I’ll be riding shotgun, underneath the hot sun, feeling like I’m someone,” he sang on the frivolous and forgettable Shotgun.
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Still, if the reaction of the mums-and-daughters crowd is anything to go by, such trivialities are unlikely to stop Ezra’s follow-up being another big-selling success. The fun and funky Don’t Matter Now was already greeted like an old favourite, while Blame It On Me was a showcase for this bluesy, booming voice. Wheels will not be re-invented but the Ezra express will keep rolling along just fine.
