BAILEY JAMES

                                                               "Change Your Number"

                                                                Independent Release

Bailey James trajectory as an artist, songwriter, and performer has been one of the more intriguing to watch as she strikes a chord in several different genres to create a unique sonic blend from song to song, that often keeps you guessing as to which side of her vast arsenal you’ll be hearing from her the moment you’re told she’s releasing something new.

While her last single “Better Angels” was a pure craft of artistry that found itself named as a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, she’s also unashamedly bent the rules of the country genre’s guidelines as far as possible into territories of rock, alternative, and grunge on well-received songs such as “The Crow.”

Something she’s doing once again on her new single, “Change Your Number.”

The moody strum of the guitar through the intro sets the overall vibe in motion as it continually builds though the verses as James perfectly injects her voice into lyrics that see her battling the many conflicting emotions of trying to navigate potential love.

Admitting that she’s reached out to him via phone, but received no answer, she laments in the opening verse that she wishes he would’ve hit *69 to call her back and tell her all the lies that she needs to hear in this moment where she's all up in her feels.

Hitting the chorus with an up and down drive wrapped into an alternative rock kissed rhythm, Bailey lifts her voice into the impeccable territory that only she can reach, to deliver the pure power of the song as she grips your senses:

“Standing in the rain with your boombox baby

80’s movie scene, driving me crazy

Sending me roses when they’re not in season

I swear you piss me off for all the right reasons

I love the way you love me

I hope the way you need me to need you

It’s kind of cool, but it’s cool

And if you love me…you’ll change your number”

By providing a risky switch in melody and song structure, James interestingly shifts the core dynamic of the song out of the chorus and into what is essentially the bridge by leaning into a sultry tilt in her voice to drag us through the confidently anxious countdown she's replaying in her mind, “#1 in my bed, #2 in my head, #3 in the stars, play me like the strings on my guitar,” before driving through the final chorus to end the song sans instrumentation with one final plea to him with the exclamation point of the whispered final line, reiterating, “if you love me, you’ll change your number.”

Bailey’s willingness to push the envelope and try something fresh is an aspect of who she is as an overall artist, but the star of any release from her is always her vocal prowess and her ability to convey the proper emotions of the lyrics by enhancing each word with her stellar voice; something she once again defines as her signature on “Change Your Number."

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

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