Electric Light
| James Bay
Electric Light
Electric Light is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter James Bay. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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NME
The Hitchin singer-songwriter knocks his old persona into a cocked hat on this wildly diverse album
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The Guardian
Bay’s second album ditches the bluesy apparel for ruthlessly efficient pop with more en-masse choirs than a touring production of Sister Act.
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Independent
A step up for an artist determined to come across more credible.
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Variety
The British troubadour has fashioned a glistening new sound without losing the old folk.
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Telegraph
All Bay has really done is exchange one set of generic production clichés for another.
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Clash
A step forward from the enormously successful songwriter.
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MusicOMH
Electric Light is a thoroughly immersive ride that shows James Bay has plenty of ideas brimming in that now hatless head.
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The Times
Returning without his trademark hat, Bay has gone for a new approach on his second album, veering between the slinky, silk pyjamas-friendly R&B to the Stones-like dirty blues with a quick detour into heartland rock.
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Cryptic Rock
He frequently mixes up sounds to weave a collection of stories that are, admittedly, largely about the trials and tribulations of finding love, but no two tracks ever sound identical and there is something to be said for that.
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Irish Times
Bay still falls back on the irritating “build to monstrous climax” formula a little too often, but this is an undeniably solid progression.
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The Music
Electric Light is a turbulent experiment that shows growth and maturity through love and loss.
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Gig Wise
There’s nowt wrong with the songwriting on Electric Light. So long as you’re cool with the fact James Bay only ever sings about girls – girls he’s currently with, girls he’s been with, girls he imagines he’d probably like to be with given half a chance.
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The National Student
The album is exciting in its versatility and undoubtedly showcases Bay’s talent lyrically and musically. Despite this, the excessive variation in style does create confusion.
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All Music
He sounds thrilled that he has a chance to make the kind of layered, genre-bending pop that he wants to make, and listeners may well find that freedom alluring.
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Standard
Bay struggled to assert a distinctive musical identity.
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Stereo Gum
It’s a genuinely thrilling piece of work, one that converted me into a James Bay fan on impact.
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Newsday
For his sophomore album “Electric Light” (Republic), Bay has combined bits of rock, R&B and EDM to create something new and compelling.
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Immortal Reviews
It's tragic, but its beautiful all the same.
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Ear Buddy
As far as mainstream alt-pop records go, this one is far better than it should be.
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The Musical Hype
James Bay ends up exceeding expectations on his intriguing sophomore LP, ‘Electric Light.’
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Wickedd Childd
Electric Light sees Bay merge several distinct elements, and when it works, he produces pure magic.
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Gig Soup
However inconsistent, it may be is still a strong follow-up, for an artist who is still finding his feet and his prefered musical style.
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Young Post
The big issue is that these songs sound too similar to other well-known acts, without Bay carving a unique sound.
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Riff Magazine
Electric Light keeps what worked on Bay’s debut, but expands his niche into electro-pop.
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The Central Trend
Although the album was just released this past month, I would not at all be surprised if it reached the top charts.
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The Daily Californian
Electric Light is a comforting, easy-to-listen-to album, a modern alternative soundtrack to a John Hughes movie.
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The Western Journal
If the organization was better, I think the reinvention would have been more successful.
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National Rock Reviews
James Bay is the very definition of a modern day rock star.
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Sauk Valley
By the same token, though, the album lacks a true, without-a-doubt stand-out single, which is necessary in the pop world in which Bay has found himself.
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Soundigest
All in all, Electric Light is a fantastic, fun, melodic, driving record from a musician who is not afraid to push the envelope when need be.
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Music Junkie Press
The album is a musical gem that highlights James’ versatility and evolution of his music.
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Stereo Board
Let’s hope for some actual development next time around.
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A Bit Of Pop Music
Not every experiment might have worked, but James Bay sure proved he got more than one trick up his sleeve and it will be exciting to see where he goes from here.
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Thomas Bleach
I always found James Bay a little vanilla and a little too predictable but this new album completely changes my opinion and introduces a bold, confident and energetic persona to his music.
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Seek a Critique
It is a great album for children, who can latch on to its formulaic songs, won’t be overwhelmed by its excessive production and don’t have the experience to notice its complete lack of lyrical originality.
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Fanatic Reviews
All of his releases before the album promised a magical project to come, and it has not disappointed.
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juliExplores
His sound on Electric Light feels like a breath of eclectic air.
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Planet Pog
It isn’t a terrible album by any means and I highly recommend you give it a listen, but it isn’t the excellent album I know he can produce.
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WN
Daring new image to match the onetime rocker’s new eclectic sound.
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