Electric Light | James Bay | Album Review
Hello loves!
I am back with a review of the James Bay's second album, Electric Light. Spoiler alert, I enjoyed the album quite a bit, though I find myself wishing it was a bit more cohesive. This album is different than Bay's first album, Chaos and the Calm, which I have played countless times on a loop on every device I own, but in some ways it remains the same. I knew Bay was in the studio last year since his drummer, Gerry Morgan, was on tour with Niall Horan, so I have been impatiently awaiting the release of this album for some time now. With the release of Electric Light, we can go ahead and add Bay to the long list of artists this year playing with new sounds. Initially I have to admit I wasn't prepared for the new sound. I hadn't been paying attention to interviews prior to the release of 'Wild Love'; however, I wasn't incredibly shocked. It has been three years since the release of Chaos and the Calm after all, and to quote Bay in an interview with WWD, "who wants to hear what they've expected".
Now let's talk about some of the influences of Bay's for Electric Light. In that same interview with WWD, James stated that he explored with influences that he didn't use for his first album. Some of those influences include David Bowie, Michael Jackson, LCD Soundsystem, Prince, Frank Ocean, and Lorde. Obviously the largest and most obvious influence with this album, and the entirely new look comes from Bowie who was a master of evolution in his style and music. Its evident that Bay isn't afraid to do the very same thing, and blatantly showed it when he ditched his signature look of the long hair and the hat for this new edgier look that goes hand in hand with his new tunes. However, if you dig deep (or not that deep at all) you will find that same long haired lad with the red Epipone. If you don't believe me on that, just go watch some of the acoustic performances on his YouTube page.
With all of that said, let's get in to the nitty gritty of the review. Electric Light is a fourteen track album with two of the tracks being an intro and an interlude. The intro features a couple talking with the sounds of a city in the background that fades in and out with the thumping of what I assume is a heartbeat that fades right into the first song on the album, 'Wasted On Each Other'. This song is a punchy rock track that reminds me of some of the more punchy rock tracks from Chaos and the Calm, and this song sounds quite amazing in the car. Maybe it's just my car, or the fact that I listen to music entirely too loud. Regardless the song plays with a building anticipation of a fantastic guitar driven rock track only to dissipate into a chorus with Bay's falsetto dominating as he sings "We can try to stop this bruising, we can be like novocaine/There's a high we keep on choosing, we don't wanna change it". Personally 'Wasted On Each Other' is one of my favorites when it is in the guitar driven verses; however, I find that I'm not a huge fan of the choruses, and late in the song there is an effort to bring in a choir behind Bay and it just feels a bit forced.
'Pink Lemonade' is the second song on the album and the second single released from the album as well. This is truly where James Bay showed a new and different sound along with a completely different look in the music video. Overall the track is quite a throwback in it's essential sound which Bay stated was a nod to the sound of bands like The Strokes and Kings of Leon. As for the video it is a nod to a vintage 80's pop music video with the inspiration coming from the lyrics and a situation of wanting to get out. In an interview with NME Bay stated that the idea for the music video stemmed from a memory of telling his parents he wanted to leave when he was a child; however, he decided to make the video much cooler than his memory of putting his prized toys in a pillowcase and instead opted for a rocketship in the garage.
'Wild Love' is the third song and the first single released from Electric Light. This is the song that many people weren't prepared for, including myself. The track features an ethereal opening of synthesizers that morphs into a rather simple but effective electronic beat with Bay's deep vocals layered on top. The song in essence is very to the point in the lyrics where James sings "I wanna give you wild love/The kind that never slows down". My personal favorite lines of the song come just before the last chorus of the song when James sings "Let's be reckless, unaffected/Running out until we're breathless/Let's be hopeful, don't get broken/And stay caught up in the moment". Those lines are just fantastic aren't they? Remember how I stated that these songs acoustically sound like the old James Bay, this song is evidence of that in my opinion. The song is still an evolution of the new era of James Bay, yet the artistic lyrics are still present. This is a song that I prefer in its acoustic format (video is to the side from Bay's YouTube page) because in the album version there is simply too much going on. The stripped back version without the synths make it obvious what the song is about and you can hear a longing; however, I have to admit that even toward the end of the version on the side it just gets so messy with all of the background choir. I'm begging you James, we want a version with just you and the guitar.
'Us' is the fourth song on the album and the third single released. In my opinion, this song is almost a gospel version of the old James. The song is one of unity and even a bit of hope though Bay has sung the song in a very melancholy way instead of going for the typical hopeful tones. Since the album has released, Bay has been performing this song quite a bit including a performance with Alicia Keys on The Voice. This song is definitely a standout on the album for me, the use of the choir in the background of this song feels appropriate and like it's meant to be unlike several of the other tracks.
'In My Head' is quite a bop in the middle of Electric Light that kind of continues the gospel feel of 'Us' yet has a completely different feel. Almost a jovial feel in comparison. 'In My Head' features plenty of horns and claps, all of which were apparently inspired by the Sesame Street theme song. I can't say that I initially caught the inspiration here but sure, Sesame Street it is. Honestly toward the end I felt a bit of a big Disney theme song in the works. The song is rather catchy, but overall I don't feel that it brings much to the album. Immediately following 'In My Head' is the interlude which ties back into the intro track with the sounds of what sounds like a speeding car and some awkward conversation. To be completely honest, the intro and interlude make no sense if you listen to the album on shuffle which is what my phone tends to do if I don't use Siri to play the album. Artistically I'm sure James has a story with these; however, when I'm driving in my car I don't particularly enjoy the extra minute of car and city noises, and I find myself hitting skip. Regardless the interlude fades right into 'Just For Tonight' which really is one of my favorites of the album. The song truly feels like it could have fit right in with the Chaos and the Calm album with the ringing of the guitar in the age old Springsteen style complete with the clever claps. Absolutely nothing wrong with the age old Springsteen style in my opinion, after all Born in the U.S.A. is one of my favorite albums. The song feels very anthemic in nature and it's not forced into being anthemic. The song isn't riddled with instruments and voices to the point you get lost.
'Wanderlust' is the next song on Electric Light, and yet another sound on the album. In all honesty the song doesn't really do anything for me when I think of it with this album, it doesn't sound like a James Bay bop. I quite enjoy the song, and I would love to see an album full of this style; however, with the rest of Electric Light it feels like it stands out like a sore thumb. The tune is very reminiscent of a War on Drugs track which is a sound that I have been keen on especially when I'm driving home from work, windows down and the music blasting. There is a nifty drop in this particular song that sounds incredible in the surround sound of my car. The airy feel of this song definitely disguises the rather melancholy message buried in the lyrics of seemingly missing someone while away, yet always wanting or needing to be away. The term "wanderlust" has such a pretty ring to it that he can really get away with using it with some airy music to hide the messy nature of relationship issues that stem from constantly being gone. As I mentioned I enjoy the feel of this song and I want to see a full album of it. I have a feeling it would do really well, just look at War on Drugs and even the newest Kings of Leon music. Regardless, 'Wanderlust' is going to be fun to see live.
'I Found You' is a very confusing song to me, and I find that I really forget about it until it starts playing. The song starts out feeling a bit like an R&B song, but changes into a gospel tune as soon as the choir joins in. My oh my how I wish that choir wasn't there. The song continues on with that pattern until the last minute of the song where it feels like it transitions into a James Bay tribute to Clapton's 'Layla' mashed with a bit of Bastille's 'Fake It' in the background. Honestly, this is my favorite part of the song. I am always down for a great guitar riff like this, but it just doesn't fit with the rest of the song, nor does it lead into the next song. It just feels a bit misplaced to me.
'Sugar Drunk High' follows 'I Found You' and goes back into a sound that blends with some of the more rocky tracks on the album; however, it still features the new James playing around with the electronic sounds. Overall I don't mind this song, it's one of the less cluttered songs and I found myself bopping right along with it, and easily singing along as soon as the song hit the second chorus. 'Stand Up' is another interesting sound right from the start with Bay's voice altered before it layers up. The sound at the beginning of 'Stand Up' I quite enjoy, it resembled a lot of the music I find myself floating in on the daily basis. When I don't want to think too much about what I'm listening to I'm prone to toss on Bastille, and The 1975. I'm a huge fan of the beginning part of this song; however, around the three minute mark it just loses me. The song becomes very muddled with instruments and voices to the point that I feel a little anxious.
'Fade Out' is the second to last song on Electric Light, and another song that feels very much like an R&B jam and very much in the realm of Prince's 'Purple Rain'. The song is quite funky with it's slow, deep bass and I find myself bobbing right along with it. The final track on Electric Light is 'Slide' which begins as a piano ballad with just James and a piano until about half way through where once again the choir joins. Personally I think that the track would be fantastic without the choir. The track also includes bits of a poem at the end with the piano piece continuing over it which is an element I really love. According to the album credits, the poem included is called "song" written by Allen Ginsberg. I'm leaving the lines from the album sleeve below because they are a bit difficult to hear, at least to me.
"The Weight of the world is love,
Under the burden of solitude,
Under the burden of dissatisfaction,
The weight, the weight we carry is love,
and so we must rest in the arms of love,
Must rest in the arms of love"
Overall, I really loved Electric Light. I found many parts of it to be extremely interesting, but my biggest issue is the fact that it's not incredibly cohesive. I can completely understand the desire to experiment with a new sound especially since it has been so long since his debut album, and he toured that album for so long. I'm hoping that the third album will be a little less on the choir side, and perhaps a bit more cohesive but that it definitely going to be a while away. Back to Electric Light, I have definitely been listening to the album quite a bit since it lasts almost my entire drive to work. I found that it has wormed its way into my constant rotation of albums; however, I do prefer Chaos and the Calm a bit more. With all of that said, I have tickets to see James Bay in September so I am definitely looking forward to hearing these tunes live. I think that quite a few of them will be quite fun live.
