Electric Light (album)

Electric Light
Studio album by James Bay
Released	18 May 2018
Length	48:26
Label	Virgin EMI Republic
Producer	Paul Epworth Jon Green
James Bay chronology
Chaos and the Calm (2014) Electric Light (2018) Oh My Messy Mind (2019)
Singles from Electric Light
"Wild Love" Released: 8 February 2018 "Pink Lemonade" Released: 7 March 2018 "Us" Released: 30 March 2018 "Just for Tonight" Released: 10 August 2018 [1]

Electric Light is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter James Bay. The album was released on 18 May 2018 through Republic Records. ^[2]

Background

On 7 March 2018, Bay announced that his second album was called Electric Light and would be released on 18 May 2018. In a press release, he said: "If I had to describe my first album visually it would probably be a flame – while this new album is about a real sonic and artistic evolution for me. The feeling of a 100 watt bulb expanding and brightening is what I envisioned. Electric Light came to my mind and I knew it was perfect." ^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100 [4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The A.V. Club	B [6]
Clash	7/10 [7]
Cryptic Rock	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
The Independent	[10]
MusicOMH	[11]
NME	[12]
Q Magazine	[13]
Variety	Positive [14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 71 based on 13 ratings, indicating "generally favorable reviews". ^[15] Jordan Bassett of NME stated "'Electric Light' is all over the place. There are hip-hop style spoken-word skits on the record and, actually, it sometimes sounds more like a lush, exploratory mixtape than a coherent album." He rated the album 3/5. ^[16] Q magazine was quoted as saying the album contains "an admirable desire for transformation." ^[15] Stereogum wrote "It’s a genuinely thrilling piece of work, one that converted me into a James Bay fan on impact." ^[17]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	James Bay	Bay	0:58
2.	"Wasted on Each Other"	Bay Jonathan Green	Bay Green Paul Epworth [b]	3:58
3.	"Pink Lemonade"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	4:14
4.	"Wild Love"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:17
5.	"Us"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:01
6.	"In My Head"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:07
7.	"Interlude"	Bay	Bay	1:01
8.	"Just for Tonight"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:37
9.	"Wanderlust"	Bay Green	Bay Green [a] Epworth [a]	4:16
10.	"I Found You"	Bay James Napier	Bay Green [a] Epworth [a]	5:06
11.	"Sugar Drunk High"	Bay Green	Bay Green	3:39
12.	"Stand Up"	Bay Green Epworth	Bay Green [a] Epworth [a]	4:59
13.	"Fade Out"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:52
14.	"Slide"	Bay Green Allen Ginsberg	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:21
Total length:				48:26

Target exclusive edition (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Confirmation"	Bay Green	Bay Green	3:14
16.	"Young Hearts in the Dark"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:17
Total length:				54:59

Deluxe and Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Wild Love" (acoustic)	3:09
16.	"Pink Lemonade" (acoustic)	4:23
17.	"Us" (acoustic)	3:03
Total length:		59:04

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
18.	"Confirmation"	Bay Green	Bay Green	3:14
19.	"Young Hearts in the Dark"	Bay Green	Bay Green Epworth [b]	3:17
Total length:				65:43

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

• Ashley Jones – spoken word (tracks 1, 7)
• Nick Selting – spoken word (tracks 1, 7)
• James Bay – lead vocals, background (tracks 2–6, 8–14); electric guitar (2–6, 8–13), drums (2–4, 6, 13), clapping (2, 5), acoustic guitar (5, 8, 9), piano (6), baritone guitar (9), percussion (10)
• Jon Green – background vocals (tracks 2–6, 8–14), bass guitar (2–6, 8, 9, 11–13), electric guitar (2, 4, 5, 8, 9), clapping (2, 5), keyboards (2–6, 8–13), drums (3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11–13), piano (5, 6, 14), percussion (6, 8, 9, 12), drum programming (6), baritone guitar (9); acoustic guitar, sound effects (12)
• Paul Epworth – drum programming (tracks 2, 6, 10), synthesizer programming (2), keyboards (4, 12); percussion, programming (4); additional vocals, drums, finger clicking (10); synthesizer (13)
• Eddie Serafica – programming (tracks 3, 11), drum programming (3)
• Gerry Morgan – drums (tracks 5, 8)
• Davide Rossi – string arrangement, strings (tracks 5, 10, 12)
• Capital Children's Choir – vocals (track 6)
• Harry Edwards – programming (tracks 10, 13); bass guitar, synth bass (10); drum programming (12)
• David Ryan Harris – spoken word (track 14)

Technical

• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing (tracks 2–6, 8–13)
• Matt Wiggins – mixing (track 14), engineering (2–6, 8–10, 12–14)
• Bryan Schlam – engineering (tracks 1, 7)
• Eddie Serafica – engineering (tracks 2–3, 5, 6, 9, 11–14)
• Paul Epworth – engineering (track 4)
• Jon Green – engineering (track 8)
• Brandon Bost – mixing assistance (tracks 2–6, 8–14)
• Luke Pickering – engineering assistance (tracks 2–6, 8–10, 12–14)
• Riley MacIntyre – engineering assistance (tracks 2–6, 8–10, 12–14)

Visuals

• James Bay – art direction
• Joe Spix – design
• Sarah Piantadosi – photography

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18]	14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [19]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [20]	24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [21]	81
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [22]	14
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) [23]	43
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24]	13
French Albums (SNEP) [25]	156
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [26]	14
Irish Albums (IRMA) [27]	12
Italian Albums (FIMI) [28]	75
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [29]	140
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [30]	21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [31]	25
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [32]	22
Scottish Albums (OCC) [33]	3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [34]	81
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [35]	26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [36]	6
UK Albums (OCC) [37]	2
US Billboard 200 [38]	21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) [39]	Gold	7,500‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [40]	Silver	60,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "BBC Radio 1 playlist". Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
2. "Electric Light by James Bay". iTunes Store (US). 18 May 2018.
3. Daly, Rhian (7 March 2018). "James Bay announces new album, single, and UK and world tour dates". NME. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
4. "Electric Light Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 24 March 2019.
5. "AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic . 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
6. The A.V. Club .{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
7. McDermott, Lauren (30 May 2018). "James Bay - Electric Light". Clash .
8. "JAMES BAY – ELECTRIC LIGHT (ALBUM REVIEW)". 14 May 2018.
9. Petridis, Alexis (17 May 2018). "James Bay: Electric Light review – too much chaos and not enough calm". The Guardian .
10. O'Connor, Roisin (16 May 2018). "James Bay, Electric Light, review: A step up for an artist determined to come across more credible". The Independent .
11. "James Bay – Electric Light". MusicOMH .
12. Bassett, Jordan (18 May 2018). "James Bay – 'Electric Light' Review". NME.
13. Q Magazine .{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
14. Amorosi, A.D. (17 May 2018). "Album Review: James Bay's 'Electric Light'". Variety.
15. "James Bay – 'Electric Light' album review". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
16. "James Bay – 'Electric Light' album review". NME. 18 May 2018.
17. "Comparing Shawn Mendes And James Bay". Stereogum. 24 May 2018.
18. "Australiancharts.com – James Bay – Electric Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
19. "Austriancharts.at – James Bay – Electric Light" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
20. "Ultratop.be – James Bay – Electric Light" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
21. "Ultratop.be – James Bay – Electric Light" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
22. "James Bay Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
23. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 21.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
24. "Dutchcharts.nl – James Bay – Electric Light" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
25. "Lescharts.com – James Bay – Electric Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – James Bay – Electric Light" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
27. "Irish-charts.com – Discography James Bay". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
28. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 21 (dal 2018-05-18 al 2018-05-24)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 26 May 2018.
29. "James Bay". Oricon . Retrieved 20 September 2020.
30. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
31. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 21, 2018". VG-lista . Retrieved 25 May 2018.
32. "Portuguesecharts.com – James Bay – Electric Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
34. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 21: del 18.5.2018 al 24.5.2018" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 31 May 2018.
35. "Swedishcharts.com – James Bay – Electric Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
36. "Swisscharts.com – James Bay – Electric Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
38. "James Bay Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
39. "New Zealand album certifications – James Bay – Electric Light". Radioscope. Retrieved 20 September 2025.Type Electric Light in the "Search:" field.
40. "British album certifications – James Bay". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 9 May 2020.Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type James Bay in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.