James Bay, “Leap.”

Dance-pop was a diversion for James Bay. Following 2018’s Electric Light, which saw the U.K. singer-songwriter drop his folkie music and persona for synths and programmed beats and fedora for a trimmed Johnny Depp haircut, he’s back in his comfort zone (and fedora) on his third album, Leap.

There is a thread that connects Electric Light with Leap, however, and that’s sadness. On the previous album, despite the shiny new exterior, the songs delved into feelings of deceit, wrong relationships, trying to move on and loneliness on tracks like “Fade Out.” It’s possible that Bay was writing about someone else at the time; he dedicated Leap track “One Life” to his girlfriend and said the two have been together every day since they were 16.

But coming off the tour for that last record, Bay said he was battling anxiety and himself feeling pretty lonely.

He started writing to get himself out of this funk—and ended up with a bunch of sad songs. At this point he thought he was done with a record. But it was 2020, and the pandemic soon hit.

Stuck with nothing to do but continue writing, he kept going. He’s said that he ended up with some of the most inspiring songs he said he’s ever written, but that’s open to interpretation. The title of the album is a references to the John Burroughs quote “leap and a net will appear.”

It takes a while for the optimism to become apparent, with the aforementioned love ballad “One Life.” The mid-tempo acoustic guitar ballad has Bay proclaiming that he could never do this without his girlfriend, Lucy, with whom he has a child. “Do you want to marry me?” he asks. “Tell me that you’ll never let me go.” The song’s already been released, so… what did she say?

Still, this song mentions where James Bay was coming from: “Sometimes I get sad/ At the front/ At the back/ In the middle of the/ Happiest moments/ ‘Cause good things can go bad/ Easily.”

This song is preceded by four others that make you concerned for Bay’s wellbeing (or relate to his anxiety, or both). On generally upbeat opener “Give Me The Reason,” he sings about nearly calling off a relationship but pleading for an excuse to stay. Cowritten with Irish artist Foy Vance and with drumming by Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves), the song starts as a folky slow-burner before exploding into a more atmospheric number with anthemic synths. Still, those lyrics bring a heaviness that balances out the hope.

Leap also includes contributions  from the likes of Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton), Joel Little (Lorde, Taylor Swift) and Finneas.

Similarly, “Nowhere Left to Go” starts out slowly before unfurling into a pop-rock number, with lovelorn lyrics and James Bay making his case for why he’s worthy of a lover. Toward the end of the album, “We Used To Shine” charges along at an urgent pace and organ-like keys as Bay pleads for a second go-around even though a lover did him wrong. If this album is autobiographical, it doesn’t appear to be told in chronological order.

Acoustic guitar ballads “Save Your Love” and “Silent Love” pump the brakes on the endorphin rush. On the former, Bay seemingly asks a woman to choose someone else. “Save your love for someone who’s not gonna run,” he sings. And on the latter: “I wanted to hold you, but I never told you.”

It’s not all bittersweetness, however. Songs like “Love Don’t Hate Me” and “Everyone Needs Someone” get the blood pumping. The former is the kind of song that’ll play well on radio, and the latter channels a grander, fuller Snow Patrol classic “Chasing Cars.” James Bay did point out that he wrote it in 2019 when he was in the depths of his depression, but it sounds more like him coming out of it with the backing choir (or layered vocals) that give the song a revelatory quality.

The same way, the galloping “Brilliant Still” keeps the positivity train rolling. Singing to someone important (or even to himself), Bay lists off affirmations that help you feel better about your day, too. And most importantly, you can dance to this song, which was more common on Electric Light but not so much on Leap.

“Right Now” is another holy ballad, with strings this time, but there’s no caution here. It’s a true love song. Following “We Used To Shine” the record returns to more uplifting, world-is-your-oyster messaging with “Endless Summer Nights.” “Stay up with me forever/ Throw your arms around the night,” he sings over the fastest beat on the entire record and more chorus vocals.

Leap concludes with “Better,” which at four minutes is one of the longest songs on the album. “Everything’s better,” he declares, thanking his love for saving his life but asking her to hold him again before he falls.” Everything’s better for now, he seems to say, but this more positive outlook rests with the love of another.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.