EDITORS’ NOTES

After the consuming business of touring for his million-selling debut Wanted on Voyage, George Ezra had time to consider the politically turbulent world and became gripped by anxiety. It sent him to the relative solitude of English farms and Barcelona boarding houses to write this follow-up. Despite, or maybe because of, that isolation, he’s emboldened his worldly folk-pop with the communal spirit of call-and-response verses, gospel choruses, and breezy odes to solidarity. A sense of fellowship suits the warmth of his baritone—and his transition from open mics to open-air stages—but he still offers intriguing glimpses of vulnerability and darkness on the reflective “Saviour.”