James Bay is a young British singer and songwriter whose heartfelt songs and passionate vocal style suggest a greater maturity and experience than one would expect from an artist whose debut album was released when he was 24 years old.
Chaos and the Calm,
Bay's first full-length album following a pair of well-received EPs, reveals he has a precocious talent as a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, and is just as comfortable with outgoing tracks like "Collide" as he is with intimate, personal numbers such as "Let It Go" as he winds together elements of pop, folk, rock, blues, and soul. Often compared to
Ed Sheeran and
Ben Howard,
Chaos and the Calm shows
James Bay has the style and the ability to stand on his own, and it's the work of a new performer with an impressive potential. [A Deluxe Edition added a second disc with ten bonus tracks.] ~ Mark Deming