John Newman's Tribute

Occasionally there's an album that you discover and it hits all the right notes. It’s the right amount of soul. The right amount of angry. The right amount of conviction. The right amount of guts. The right amount of "damn you.”

John Newman's Tribute is that for us. From the get go, it knocks you on your ass and keeps you dancing off that break-up until the last note on “Day One” in which he screams “I have been broken since day one, you’re vicious like them all!” Not exactly get-pumped-for-that-first-date material. Better sung over a fresh wound. The kid makes no apologies—this is about singing his peace.

Newman, a baby faced English crooner, redeems his throbbing heartbreak with conviction and a palate decidedly more seasoned than his 23 years. "Love Me Again" and "Cheating” are lip-biting-fist-pounding standouts. Although the latest in a long line of 60s revivers, Newman gives guys the break-up album we never got with Adele or Winehouse...and that’s something we can all ugly cry to.