British singer-songwriter George Ezra released his second album, “Staying at Tamara’s” on March 23. It was much anticipated as it took him four years to develop—and I have to say, it was well worth the wait.

Ezra is best known for his song “Budapest” from his first album,“Wanted on a Voyage.” His previous album spent a total of four weeks at number one on the UK charts and was the third best-selling album of 2014 in the UK. His new album has been out for just over a week, and it has already been awarded the fastest selling album of 2018.

Much like his first album, this one is very diverse because it offers songs that are both energetic and upbeat, but also ones that are more chill.

“Paradise” and “Don’t Matter Now” were the first two songs to be released as singles before the album debut. Both of these songs have warm and cheerful melodies which pair ever so perfectly with Ezra’s unique baritone voice.

“Paradise” describes what it’s like being overwhelmed with the feeling that you could be falling in love. The chorus, “If it feels like paradise running through your bloody veins/ You know it’s love heading your way” paints the experience in such an accurate way. The song, “Don’t Matter Now” is the perfect anthem for all the introverts out there who are tired of explaining why they need to recharge and take some well deserved me time. The song starts off, “Sometimes you need to be alone/ It don’t matter now/ Shut the door, unplug the phone/ It don’t matter now/ Speak in a language they don’t know/ It don’t matter now.”

Another feel-good song on the album is, “Shotgun.” The lyrics are carefree and will have you longing for the summer time. The song starts off, “Homegrown alligator, see you later/ Gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road /The sun it changed in the atmosphere/ Architecture unfamiliar / I can get used to this.” These lyrics make listeners forget about the April showers by teleporting them somewhere tropical, even if it is just for a few minutes.

In the midst of these summertime anthems, Ezra’s song “Hold My Girl” is a love song listeners will want to hear. It isn’t overly sentimental because he sings of love by identifying realistic challenges you face in any relationship like moving cities, bills to pay and cold nights. My favorite lyric from the song and example of this is, “I’ve been dreaming ’bout us/ Working hard and saving it up/ We’ll go and see the man on the moon/ My girl we’ve got nothing to lose.”

The album is genuinely a great soundtrack for the dog days of summer. Ezra is a timeless artist because of his smoldering voice and his ability to blend it so well with his music. I think I’ll definitely have this one on repeat in a couple of months, hopefully on a beach somewhere.  

Rating: 5/5 stars