Chaos and the Calm

James Bay evokes the grit of a hardened rock veteran but also shows the sincerity of a young romantic. On his debut, the singer/songwriter powers through propulsive pop-rock anthems with the heart of Springsteen ("Get Out While You Can") and piano-powered grooves with the soft rock sway of Fleetwood Mac ("If You Ever Want to Be in Love"). His voice tackles it all, warbling through the soulful sing-along "Hold Back the River" before trembling in falsetto on the acoustic beauty "Let It Go".