The English singer-songwriter has released ten albums over the past eight years, growing a worldwide following with his poignant lyrics and soft vocals. His latest offering Runaway is much of the same but why change when you do it so well?
The 20-track album is a mix of studio and live recordings, with the polished songs first, all well produced and composed with backing instruments, and then the stripped back versions he does so well. These are where Passenger’s talent really shines, as he plucks and strums his way through the tracks.
There’s an Americana influence on this album, with folk and country roots. It’s particularly prevalent in tracks like ‘Hell or High Water’, ‘Why Can’t I Change’ and ‘Eagle Bear Buffalo’, peppered with that familiar Western twang. The latter is a kind of love song for the US itself, specifically Yellowstone national park, where he sings “I wanna go where the sun sinks low/Eagle, Bear, and Buffalo.”
As well as being a talented vocalist and instrumentalist, Passenger is one hell of a songwriter. If he hadn’t made that clear enough already on his other albums, he definitely has with Runaway.
8.5/10
