George Ezra, “Staying At Tamara’s.”

English singer-songwriter George Ezra proves he’s got more to him besides “Budapest” on his second album, Staying at Tamara’s. Following the release of his debut, Wanted on Voyage, in 2014, and three years on the road, Ezra spent last year in the studio. On the 11-track album follow-up, he balances a myriad of instruments with a storyteller’s spirit overflowing with folky melodies made for driving fast with the windows down.

On the album’s emphatic opening track, “Pretty Shining People,” Ezra shows from the get-go that he’s not afraid to tackle the folk songs that could become “Budapest.” By incorporating catchy acoustic guitar picking with tambourines and handclaps to keep time, the song provides a feel-good, dance-inducing opening track—ensuring listeners with lyrics like, “Hey pretty shining people/ We’re all right together.”

The spirited “Don’t Matter Now” and the resonant “Paradise” do their part to unify many arrangements under the album’s concept, from Big Band horns to dynamic steel guitars and commanding bass in a cohesive, intoxicating dance track. In terms of growing as an artist, these medleys reveal a certain sophistication and improvement from his earlier work, which included catchy melodies, but lacking a next-level power that is displayed on this album.

While Staying at Tamara’s introduces Ezra’s ability to handle the busier tracks, he also shifts his writing and composing to accommodate for the more heartfelt, simplistic ballads, such as the ironically sweet “Sugarcoat.” Paring the arrangements down to syncopated acoustic guitar strumming and grandiose keyboard riffs, Ezra realizes the potential of his impressively deep vocal delivery.

Ezra showcases his lyricism through the adorably sincere “Hold My Girl” and the beautifully affirming “Only a Human,” revealing his heart-on-his-sleeve sensibilities. His singing shines through on tracks like these that allow the arrangements to play second fiddle to his whimsical vocal inflections and reverberant baritone voice.

Many songs on Staying at Tamara’s demonstrate his ability to create an entire world in a single song. With the the mid-tempo shuffle of “Saviour,” it becomes clear that meticulous thought went into not only the lyrical construction, but also the sonic composition. On this track specifically, Ezra crafts an old Western classic wrapped in heavy drumming that rings like thunder as a choir echoes like wind in a canyon. Even “Shotgun,” while certainly a more stripped-down song, still manages to tell a powerful story of escape and freedom. Regardless of the minimalist range of some songs on the record, Ezra spins compelling yarns to a relatively simple backdrop.

The joy Ezra has found in his ventures translates both through lyrics like “Homegrown alligators, see you later/ I’m gonna hit the road … Change in the atmosphere, architecture unfamiliar/ I could get used to this,” and through the diverse array of sonic approaches that pervade throughout this album.

Ezra holds nothing back on Staying at Tamara’s, bringing his musicianship and songwriting chops to new heights. By combining a variety of arrangements and immersive storytelling, Ezra creates the musical equivalent of a world traveler’s journal. With soulful steel guitar accompanying anything from trumpets to violins, Ezra embraces a multitude of new sounds. The storytelling follows the arrangements; the album tells a series of adventure stories, illustrating a life of blissful wanderlust. 

Follow writer Piper Westrom at Twitter.com/plwestrom.