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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]
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]
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201821 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 8 April 2019.