Electric Light by James Bay -Album Review

The calm was destroyed and chaos took over: James Bay’s new album, Electric Light, dropped. Bay’s first album, Chaos and the Calm, was released in 2015, and received a Grammy Award nomination for ‘best rock album.’ That same album also earned Bay a nomination for ‘best new artist,’ and his single off of the album, “Hold Back the River,” was nominated for ‘best rock song.’ After such a successful album, the only music Bay released was a track for Disney’s Pixar 2017 Cars 3 movie, “King’s Highway.” Listeners seem to be enjoying the album, seeing it is in the Top 10 on the iTunes album charts in U.S.

I began listening to Bay three years ago at age twelve, though it feels much longer since his voice found its way through my headphones and into my ears, impacting me in a way I never expected. I remember being completely captivated by his voice and songs, which transported me into a dimension I had never visited before. Bay is the first rock artist I began avidly listening to, and his music is what led me onto the path of listening to rock musicians. I remember the chaotic rush I felt when songs like “Collide” and “Best Fake Smile” played, putting a smile on my face, making me dance, and belting the lyrics along with the track. In contrast, tracks like “Move Together” and “Need the Sun to Break” placed me in a state of calm. Chaos and the Calm was truly a revolutionary album for me, it opened me to a world of music I was devastatingly unaware of.

When Bay began teasing on Instagram of being in the studio working on music, I -like every other fan- became overwhelmed with excitement. As days turned into weeks, we began getting more information on what was to come, and eventually received a single: “Wild Love.” Truthfully, I didn’t like the song first few times I heard it. It was completely different from what I was accustomed to hearing from him, and began to worry that I would not enjoy the album that was in the works. Then, “Pink Lemonade” was released, and I was hooked. The rustic guitar that introduces the song drew me in, and creates the classic Brit rock that Bay so wonderfully embodies through his music.

Finally, May 18th rolled around and I anxiously played the album I had been waiting months for. Instantly, I was mesmerized. The simple -yet hypnotizing- piano in the slow songs, the sweet guitar loops in the upbeat songs, the lyrical melodies, and the vocal arrangements Bay sings, the album is pure genius. The inclusion of a choir deepens the substance of the songs and draws the audience in even more. The opening track on the album, “Intro,” and the intermission track, “Interlude,” provide insight to a narrative that the record seems to tell. These two tracks include conversations between two people, seemingly lovers, and the status of their relationship. Weaving these into the album provide more context for the listener, though are not necessary to enjoy and understand the album. Lastly, the electronic fragments interlaced into the musical composition amplifies the production of the record, wisely crossing over musical aspects that at times don’t mingle.

Each track brings about a different emotion based on the message it conveys, whether it be excitement -like in “Wanderlust”- or heartache -like in “Us”- the album comes together beautifully to relay the human experience of living and what many of us inevitably experience. This record shows the growth Bay underwent in the period between his first album and Electric Light, shedding away his acoustic sound in his songs from Chaos and the Calm and successfully experimenting with more piano melodies for his slower songs on this new record. Bay and everyone involved in the making of this album created something astonishing. I already have the album on repeat, and will be at the top of my ‘recently played’ for weeks to come.