Britannia rules!

It may be half a century since the British Invasion spearheaded by the Beatles and the Stones, but talent is talent, and these two young artists from Britain have quality and excellence stamped all over their debut albums. Ed Sheeran was a big winner in the recent Brit Awards, and listening to Ed for the first time is akin to that first time you heard artists like Van Morrison, John Mayer or Jason Mraz. He is that good! Rebecca Ferguson has been compared to Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, and those are big shoes to fill in. She’s her own person, mining the field of neo-soul with a retro twist, and should be one to watch.

Ed Sheeran — + (Asylum/Warner). A singer-songwriter in the Damien Rice and Jason Mraz tradition, but with an English accent, the deluxe edition of Ed’s + has 16 tracks that truly beguile and surprise, with nary a dud track on the CD. From the poetic The A Team that opens the album, we know we’re listening to a very assured artist who knows exactly what he wants to produce. He raps on the humor-filled You Need Me, I Don’t Need You, and I can’t decide which is my favorite track, there are that many! Small Bump (about a forthcoming baby), The City (his move to London), Lego House, Little Bird or Gold Rush — whether going for poignant ballads or syncopated ditties, there’s just so much talent and enjoyment oozing out from these songs. Hands down, this would be my album of the year for now, and if you spent as many years loving the music of the likes of Van, John and Jason, there is no way you won’t be adding Ed to that list. A more perfect debut album would be hard to find.

Rebecca Ferguson — Heaven (RCA Sony). Rebecca was the runner-up of the 2010 UK X Factor singing contest, and that fact reaffirms the notion that the winner isn’t necessarily the most original of artists with the “legs” for a sustained career. With a voice that’s somewhere in between Macy Grey and Corinne Bailey Rae, Rebecca is a unique talent that should be heard from for a long time to come. Nothing’s Real But Love and Glitter & Gold set the mood for the singer who composes her own songs and gives R&B a new doyenne to watch out for. I loved Fairytale and Run Free, while Shoulder to Shoulder is one fine showcase for her soulful phrasing and impeccable voice control (ala Leona Lewis). As a whole, this isn’t as polished a CD as say, the one of Ed, but the filler tracks are far and few, and we may just have to wait for that stellar CD that will really make her name. In the meantime, we have Heaven, a tad rough at the edges, but still a delight.