Chaos and the Calm - James Bay

‘Chaos and the Calm’ is the debut album from James Bay who shot to fame after releasing his single ‘Hold Back The River’ and winning Critics’ Choice at the BRIT awards in 2015 despite not having an album out at this time. The album was recorded in Nashville with the help of the three-time Grammy winning producer Jacquire King and shot straight to number 1 in the UK upon its release.

Some songs really make you get up and dance, whenever ‘Hold Back the River’ comes on it has me singing along and dancing. With such a catchy tune and simplistic words it’s no wonder the single shot to fame, it really is a feel-good dance track. Several songs on the album make you want to dance and sing-along, ‘Get Out While You Can’ another song that you can sing the chorus after one listen.

 

Bay really showcased his voice and sound in the song ‘Let It Go’ which was released as a single, but didn’t receive anything near the reception of ‘Hold Back the River’. The song is beautiful, I’d like to think if it was released now with Bay’s new found fame then it would climb much higher, because the song holds a wonderful message which is delivered in the package of a soul like voice and a magical melody. This is perhaps my favourite on the album and one I definitely feel was overlooked.

Every song manages to somehow sound different from the others whilst keeping the unmistakable sound of James Bay. ‘Best Fake Smile’ is a perfect example with its aggressive borderline rock sound perfectly blended with Bay’s voice, it gets your feet tapping away. ‘Collide’ is a very similar song, when I put this on my sister ran in and started dancing, it’s quite different from what I expected from Bay in a good way; it’s these songs that provide a perfect contrast to the more chilled out songs on the album and prevents the listener from getting bored at the repeated sound.

 

‘Move Together’ is a chilled out song highlighting his voice perfectly and a nice change in tempo from the previous song ‘When We Were on Fire’ which is yet another feet-tapping song. ‘Scars’ also fits this description, his raspy voice highlighted in a chilled song, but somehow still bringing to mind that rock style singer and the perfect toned down guitar that gets louder in all the right parts.

I strongly recommend this album, it is an incredibly strong debut album. The response from fans has been very positive, the album not disappointing despite the hype that surrounded it and Bay himself. Although, for many critics it has been a bit of anti-climax with Bay repeatedly saying he wanted a revolutionary guitar sound, the album is brilliant but I’m afraid I don’t think it’s all that different from artists like George Ezra in style and this revolutionary sound seems lost. This doesn’t take away from the album itself, it may not be revolutionary but it is still an amazing album.

So if you haven't already go and get a copy of the album! The deluxe edition is fabulous.