James Bruner throws everything into his debut album 'Can’t Keep Wanting You'

James Bruner’s debut album 'Can’t Keep Wanting You' is the culmination of a few very busy years. After touring extensively across the UK, Europe and the US, the Illinois-born, Nashville-based artist channels that experience into twelve tracks of high-energy rock ’n’ roll built around lust, self-doubt, resilience and the search for something steady.

The record is at its best when he lets those emotions collide with the music rather than slowing everything down to explain them. ‘Hypnotized’ is a full-blooded punk-rock release valve, all aggression and forward motion, while ‘Don’t Wanna Be Late’ leans into a grungier 90s crunch. Then ‘Wish I Could Stay’ introduces more groove and funk into the mix, widening the album’s palette without losing its rock foundation.

There are quieter moments too, as ‘Shine’ pushes him into a more exposed vocal space, with falsetto and a cinematic arrangement giving the song a different kind of intensity. ‘Only You’ brings some much-needed stability to an album often preoccupied with obsession, pressure and uncertainty, while ‘Take It Or Leave It’ closes things with a more reflective sense of gratitude.

It's that emotional range keeps 'Can’t Keep Wanting You' from becoming a straightforward collection of big rock anthems. The title-track itself gets to the heart of the record’s central tension that desire can be exhilarating, destructive and empowering all at once. The artist keeps returning to that contradiction throughout, whether he's writing about infatuation, ambition, post-tour emptiness or the fear of losing sight of the life he has built.

Producer Shane Weisman helps give the album a suitably muscular sound, but the real draw is his commitment to the performances. There's swagger here, but also enough vulnerability to stop it becoming one-note.

For a debut collection, 'Can’t Keep Wanting You' is impressively full-bodied. Loud, restless and emotionally direct, it captures James Bruner sounding like an artist who has finally found a way to turn the chaos around him into something exhilarating.

Listen to 'Can't Keeping Wanting You' HERE.