James Bay is no stranger to sappy love songs, but something about his latest release, “Chew On My Heart,” hits a little differently. With his first new release of 2020, the singer-songwriter gravitates away from his usual distant longing and jumps right into infatuation.
The track starts off subtle, but then blossoms into an upbeat declaration of love by someone who isn’t afraid to get hurt. “I wanna be your touch/Sleeping’s so tough, you’re burning up my mind,” he sings. “What would it feel like if you tore me apart?/Come on, chew on my heart.” Bay is in love and doesn’t care about the consequences.
“When I come home from tour, I burst through the door and throw my arms around my girl,” he said of his girlfriend of 13 years. “It’s cheesy, but I wrote it from that perspective. It’s the opposite of being guarded.”
Though the song shows a different side of Bay, it still includes his signature guitar riffs and pulsing drum beats. If “Chew On My Heart” is any indication of what his forthcoming album is going to sound like, it seems like the musician is taking his sound in a more positive direction.
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