James Bay, Changes All The Time.”

What happens when you have the backing of The Lumineers and Noah Kahan, and you have vocal range and a guitar? The short answer is that music happens. To be more specific, James Bay’s fourth album also happens.

“Changes All the Time,” Bay’s first album since 2022’s writer’s-block-breaking Leap, and 2018’s Electric Light before that, features 11 songs of multi-octave vocals, earnest stories and folky guitar riffs.

Bluesy single “Up All Night” with the aforementioned guests adding their chops to the peppy, guitar-driven song, opens the album and clearly states that Bay is here to make music. The clang of the energetic strumming adds a metallic percussive element.

Bay is a strong guitarist, which he shows off on “Everburn.” It starts with his solo work, aided by his controlled vocal delivery. He tempers the tone even as he belts out the chorus, adds some background instruments, then reins it in as a sort of intro to “Hope.”

That song does let loose, with Bay’s vocal range and relatable lyrics. “If I fall/ If I have to learn to suffer/ Lose it all,” he sings. “Hang on to that rope/ Have a little hope.” The thematic elements of “holding on” feels like a carryover from Leap.

“Easy Distraction” has a Snow Patrol sound to it; a melodramatic stomp, ethereal chord progression and gang backup vocalizations, but bringing in Bay’s love of American classic rock and blues. It’s one of those songs that will have hands tapping on the steering wheel and heads moving in time while stuck in traffic — and the uptempo, peppy beat will make traffic feel slightly more bearable. It’ll be a lie staple for sure.

The song was the result of a collaboration with Brandon Flowers of The Killers, one of Bay’s many musical idols. On the album, he also drew inspiration from U2 and Aretha Franklin; he counts Kahan among his longtime friends. Ultimately, James Bay is a guitarist and singer who, at 34, is still proving that he just really cares about his craft.

“Go On” makes you look up and pay attention: Bay’s earnest vocals start out gently, then pick up steam as he showcases his range. He maintains control, cresting the peak of the song when he sings, “I won’t be afraid/ If you won’t be afraid,” then gently cruises down the other side.

Bay’s lyrics on this album are’t always as s strong as his ability to craft a melody or arrangement; some feel like they exist to fill space between his guitar playing and belting. However, on “Speed Limit,” there’s a much deeper line: “If love is a door that we walk through together/ Then how come we can’t find the key?”

Bay collaborated with fellow U.K. singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone on album closer “Dogfight,” about self-doubt and the struggle to gain self-esteem; another through line from his last album. “It’s gonna be all right,” he repeats, which seems to be simplistic mantra and a final statement: he’s OK. In retrospect, maybe the lighter lines aren’t filler at all, but rather serve to balance some of the heaviness.

Follow Layla Bohm at Twitter.com/laylabohm.