Chaos and the Calm
Chaos and the Calm is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was first released on 23 March 2015 via Republic Records.
| Chaos and the Calm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|  | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 March 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | |||
| Studio | Blackbird (Nashville)[1][2] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:11 | |||
| Label | Republic | |||
| Producer | 
 | |||
| James Bay chronology | ||||
| 
 | ||||
| Singles from Chaos and the Calm | ||||
| 
 | ||||
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, while the song "Hold Back the River" was nominated for Best Rock Song and Bay for Best New Artist.
Critical reception
    
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| Metacritic | 58/100[7] | 
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| AllMusic |      [8] | 
| Clash | 7/10[9] | 
| The Guardian |      [10] | 
| PopMatters | 6/10[11] | 
Chaos and the Calm received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 58, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 9 reviews.
Commercial performance
    
Chaos and the Calm debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on 29 March 2015, having sold over 64,000 copies in the first week of release.[12]
Track listing
    
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Craving" | Jacquire King | 3:47 | |
| 2. | "Hold Back the River" | 
 | King | 3:59 | 
| 3. | "Let It Go" | 
 | King | 4:21 | 
| 4. | "If You Ever Want to Be in Love" | 
 | King | 3:58 | 
| 5. | "Best Fake Smile" | 
 | King | 3:26 | 
| 6. | "When We Were on Fire" | 
 | King | 3:59 | 
| 7. | "Move Together" | King | 4:37 | |
| 8. | "Scars" | Bay | King | 4:32 | 
| 9. | "Collide" | 
 | King | 3:24 | 
| 10. | "Get Out While You Can" | 
 | King | 4:43 | 
| 11. | "Need the Sun to Break" | 
 | King | 3:46 | 
| 12. | "Incomplete" | 
 | King | 3:41 | 
| Total length: | 48:11 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Running" | Bay | Bay | 3:36 | 
| 14. | "Clocks Go Forward" | 
 | Green | 4:10 | 
| 15. | "Stealing Cars" | 
 | Green | 3:43 | 
| 16. | "Scars" (live at iTunes Festival 2014; digital bonus track only) | 4:43 | ||
| Total length: | 64:23 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Move Together" (The Dark of the Morning Version) | 
 | Green | 4:45 | 
| 2. | "Need the Sun to Break" (The Dark of the Morning Version) | 
 | Green | 3:37 | 
| 3. | "When We Were on Fire" (The Dark of the Morning Version) | 
 | Green | 3:59 | 
| 4. | "Stealing Cars" | 
 | Green | 3:43 | 
| 5. | "Clocks Go Forward" | 
 | Green | 4:10 | 
| 6. | "Sparks" | 
 | Bay | 3:07 | 
| 7. | "Wait in Line" | 
 | Bay | 4:00 | 
| 8. | "Running" | Bay | Bay | 3:36 | 
| 9. | "Hear Your Heart" | Robson | 3:02 | |
| 10. | "Heavy Handed" | 
 | Bay | 3:29 | 
| Total length: | 84:00 | |||
Charts and certifications
    
| Weekly charts
 | Year-end charts
 Decade-end charts
 
 | 
Certifications
    
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales | 
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[61] | Gold | 35,000^ | 
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[62] | Gold | 7,500* | 
| Canada (Music Canada)[63] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ | 
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[64] | 2× Platinum | 40,000‡ | 
| Germany (BVMI)[65] | Gold | 100,000‡ | 
| Italy (FIMI)[66] | Gold | 25,000‡ | 
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[67] | Gold | 30,000^ | 
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[68] | Gold | 7,500^ | 
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[69] | Gold | 15,000* | 
| Singapore (RIAS)[70] | Gold | 5,000* | 
| Sweden (GLF)[71] | Gold | 20,000‡ | 
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[72] | Gold | 10,000^ | 
| United Kingdom (BPI)[73] | 3× Platinum | 824,540[74] | 
| United States (RIAA)[75] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ | 
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
    
| Region | Date | Format | Label | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 20 March 2015 | ||
| United Kingdom[76] | 23 March 2015 | 
References
    
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- "James Bay - Chaos And The Calm". Clash Magazine. 13 March 2015.
- Helen Brown (21 March 2015). "Chaos and the Calm, James Bay, review: 'tiring'". Telegraph.co.uk.
- "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm - Album Review". The Irish Times. 20 March 2015.
- Tshepo Mokoena (19 March 2015). "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm review – festival-ready and forgettably pleasant". the Guardian.
- "Chaos and the Calm Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
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- Mokoena, Tshepo (19 March 2015). "James Bay: Chaos and the Calm review – festival-ready and forgettably pleasant". The Guardian.
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- "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type James Bay in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Chaos And The Calm in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
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