“Talk,” like much of British troubadour James Bay’s latest album, “Changes All the Time,” ends with a frenetic chorus sung over a guitar melody. To get there, he starts with a confession. “I don’t know how to talk to you/I have to tell you the truth.”
In fact, Bay is incredibly articulate. On his fourth album, the musicians transform the lyrics into soulful cries and earnest encouragement, set to live instrumentation. This is illustrated by the album cover, which features Bey alongside images of guitars and keyboards.
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter burst onto the scene more than a decade ago, making waves with her 2014 debut album Chaos and the Calm. His biggest hit, the 6x platinum “Let It Go,” with its fingerpicked intro and easy-to-sing chorus, has since been streamed over 1.2 billion times on Spotify. Bey’s talent arrived in the midst of the pop singer-songwriter acceptance of the 2010s. He toured with Hozier and Taylor Swift early in his career. His breakthrough tracks shared the airwaves with timeless hits from Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Now in 2024, his new music comes at the perfect time. The folky style of “Changes All the Time” could be equally embraced by nostalgic fans and new fans who have taken notice of the genre in its post-pandemic resurgence. Led by artists like Noah Kahan and Lizzy McAlpine, there are potential new listeners looking for vulnerable lyrics that serve as universal mantras.
Kayhan and the Lumineers join Bey on the peppy lead single “Up All Night,” which immediately conjures up images of live musicians jamming in pubs, around campfires, and in garages. It is the entrance to the “stomping and shouting” canon. stage. Over Bey’s guitar, the collaborators promise to let their guard down, singing, “Let’s talk about dreams/Let’s talk about lies/Let’s talk about all the things that keep us up/Up all night Please,” he sings.
Produced by Gabe Simon, who recently collaborated on Kayhan’s acclaimed “Stick Season,” “Changes All the Time” finds Bey expressing his late-night thoughts and big emotions in a variety of voices.
Holly Humberstone, known for her moody pop, gives songwriting credit to the album’s final song, “Dogfight.” The Killers’ Brandon Flowers co-wrote “Easy Destruction,” an apologetic love song with a killer bridge and electric guitar melody. Bey imitates singer-songwriter Kevin Garrett’s soft, whispery rendition of “Crystal Clear,” which Garrett also co-wrote.
Bey’s strength as a songwriter is felt most deeply in the album’s most emotional moments. For example, when “Hope” employs a chorus of background vocals to turn a plea for optimism into a unifying message. Bey sings about difficult times, but insists, “It’s going to be okay,” as she sings on “Dogfight.”
What “Changes All the Time” reveals is the positivity, with Bey's love for his job shining through, even in stressful moments.
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