Feel The Love and Waiting All Night are two of the biggest songs of 2013. With Foxes lending her vocals to Right Here and Alex Clare/John Newman at the helm of Not Giving In, Rudimental had a star studded lineup of contributors to their debut album Home. However, having massively popular singles can often be a gift and a curse for new artists, the popularity of Rudimental and the hype surrounding their debut of course originated from their two biggest singles dominating the charts and the radio. Everyone knew about them and wanted more of what they had to offer.
The brilliant singles were justly selected as they are the most enjoyable of all the tracks on the album, the rest of the album bar Home and Powerless don’t possess the same likability as the hits. The majority of songs on Home are lacklustre and left a lot to be desired, Baby is a song that doesn’t seem to go anywhere and has little to know fire or pep, something that made Rudimental as popular as they are. Gone are the trumpets, gone is the catchy beat, and in its place; either a weak hook or a seemingly endless loop of Disclosure-esque piano chords.
For an album that possessed as much potential and hype as Home, it was ultimately a real disappointment. An act like Rudimental should play to their strengths, energetic brass accompaniment and catchy hooks are what people love from the London based four piece, so why not give the fans just that? An album so desperate to not appear Top40 and one that longs to appeal to a niche audience, leaves a carcass of songs; half great, half simply put, dull.
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