The Emotional Weight of Desire Runs Through James Bruner’s “Can’t Keep Wanting You”
From its most intense moments, complete with fry screams and guitar solos, to softer passages built around pauses and silence, “Can’t Keep Wanting You,” James Bruner’s new album, spans a broad spectrum of rock across 12 tracks. Throughout the record, personal experiences provide the thread connecting its different sounds and emotions.
“Show Me the Way,” the opening track, recalls artists who have approached rock from different angles, including The White Stripes, The Strokes, Muse, and Lenny Kravitz, one of Bruner’s biggest influences. Its immediate energy establishes Bruner’s intentions as he draws from rock history without letting those references define his sound.
The title track, “Can’t Keep Wanting You,” is a brief song in which vibrant electric guitar once again takes center stage. Its guitar-and-drum interplay recalls the rock and roll of the 1950s, when rhythm carried as much weight as melody. Produced by Shane Weisman in Nashville, the song emerged organically as Bruner and Weisman developed ideas in the studio.
“Hypnotized” raises the intensity and ventures into hard rock, turning Bruner’s voice into another driving element of the arrangement. Thunderous drums, a powerful bass line, and screams cutting through the verses fuel a carefree performance that eventually gives way to an instantly memorable chorus.
“Shine” lowers the intensity with understated drums that give Bruner room to showcase his upper register. The change of pace demonstrates how the album moves between force and melody while keeping the guitar at the center of its sound.
“Don’t Wanna Be Late,” “SMS,” and “Wish I Could Stay” continue building a record in which life, love, and desire carry considerable lyrical weight. On “Wish I Could Stay,” Bruner explores the impulse to preserve a moment even as it begins to fade, caught between remaining in the present and pursuing whatever might come next.
Songs such as “Only You,” “It’s Too Late,” and “Take It or Leave It” round out the record’s softer side, moving close to ballad territory without losing their rock identity. “OMG,” meanwhile, allows Bruner’s pop instincts to emerge more clearly.
Love, lust, desire, and rebellion shape the emotional language of “Can’t Keep Wanting You.” The lyrics examine attraction that clouds judgment, the people who linger in our memories, and the moments when the passage of time forces us to choose between holding on and walking away.
After settling in Nashville, Bruner launched his solo career in 2023 and began developing it through live performances. Since then, he has played hundreds of shows across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, sharing bills with Orianthi, Barns Courtney, The Struts, Those Damn Crows, Yonaka, and William Fitzsimmons.
His EP “The Otherside” anticipated this musical direction by bringing together hard rock, classic rock, and indie influences. The project received coverage from music publications and accumulated thousands of streams across digital platforms.
On “Can’t Keep Wanting You,” James Bruner returns to the sounds that first drew him to rock and reshapes them through his own experiences. Hard rock, ballads, and pop hooks coexist across an album that respects the genre’s past while giving Bruner room to define where he wants to take his music next.
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