Creating his second album, Electric Light, James Bay is not only aware of the precarious equilibrium needed to succeed in this pop world, but hes determinedly embraced the challenge head on. He does have an advantage though, because the Hitchin-born singer-songwriter is something of a pop paradox himself.Crucially and appropriately alongside this new sonic pallet, James Bays second album has a thread running right through its heart that examines and embraces the notion of unity. From the gospel flecked R&B hopscotch jam In My Head, via the imploring raw beauty of the anthemic Us, the breathless ticking golden transistor guitar pop of Pink Lemonade and the chopped sonic blues behind the hip-swinging I Found You, this guiding sense of unity helps to navigate Electric Lights expanded horizons in a strong coherent direction. This lyrical focus adds a real sense of time and place to scenes Bay invokes within the songs, which is further heightened by a series of spoken word vignettes he scripted and helped to direct that are peppered between tracks, while an Allen Ginsberg poem is sampled into the albums contemplative closer, Slide, to give a truly immersive quality to the whole record. This, coupled with Bay pushing his own musical boundaries makes Electric Light, a new, progressive yet open and welcoming experience. Its so interesting to see what people are doing with pop right now and what I feel I can do with my own pop music, its exciting, he smiles of the new places making this record has taken him. What is undeniable from its opening monologue to its final notes, through sonic innovation and genuine emotion, James Bay has created a fresh classic pop album, a timeless statement for that brave new world. A contradiction? You bet, the best kind.