Chaos And The Calm
James Bay has a voice like a knife. On his debut full-length, the nascent English singer/songwriter fulfills the promise of his early recordings with a collection of lushly arranged rock he recorded in Nashville alongside GRAMMY®-winning producer Jacquire King. The soulful “Let It Go” features a hypnotic guitar melody and stunning vocal performance, while shades of Bruce Springsteen can be heard in the windows-down rush of “Get Out While You Can.” Elsewhere, Bay’s voice cuts through the Fleetwood Mac–like swing of “If You Ever Want To Be In Love” with veteran aplomb.
The Brits critics’ choice churns out some predictably safe, critic-proof blues-rock anthems
James Bay's album is so formulaic it could have been generated by a computer programme, says Helen Brown