“Talk,” like much of British troubadour James Bay ‘s latest album, “Changes All the Time,” ends with a rousing chorus sung above a guitar melody. To get there, he starts with a confession: “I don’t know how to talk to you/I gotta give you something true.” The truth is, Bay is incredibly articulate.
The album, his fourth, sees the musician turn lyrics into soulful cries or earnest encouragement atop raw instrumentation — as is signaled by the album cover, which features Bay alongside images of guitars and a keyboard. The singer-songwriter, 34, first emerged over a decade ago, making waves with his 2014 debut album, “Chaos and the Calm.” His breakout hit, the six-times platinum “Let It Go” — with its fingerpicked introduction and easy-to-sing-along-to chorus — has since surpassed 1.
2 billion streams on Spotify. Bay’s talent arrived in the midst of the 2010s’ embrace of pop singer-songwriters: He toured with Hozier and Taylor Swift early in his career; his breakthrough tracks shared radio waves with Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith ‘s enduring hits. Now, in 2024, his new music arrives at an opportune moment.
The folk stylings of “Changes All the Time” are likely to be embraced by nostalgic fans and new ones alike, those who’ve turned to the genre during a post-pandemic resurgence. Led by artists like Noah Kahan and Lizzy McAlpine , there are potential new listeners looking for vulnerable lyrics to become universal mantras. Kahan and The Lumineer.
