George Ezra – Wanted On Voyage

Husky-voiced Englishman George Ezra has his work cut out for him if he wants to stand out from the pack of toothsome singer/songwriters that includes Vance Joy, Hozier, and Ed Sheeran, but “Budapest” is a great start: the tune is impossibly jaunty and deserved the international success it earned in 2014. His debut is similarly distinct. From the gutbucket bombast of “Cassy O” to the rock-steady beat of “Listen to the Man” to the rousing ’80s pulse of “Stand By Your Gun,” Ezra has a number of tricks up his sleeve, and they’re not all mash notes, either. On “Drawing Board,” he fantasizes about killing a former paramour.