RAYE has released her sophomore album This Music May Contain Hope this week.
Possibly one of the most anticipated albums of this year, it’s definitely an ambitious project that I feel will cement RAYE as one of the most compelling songwriters of her generation. The album takes you on a journey through the four seasons (each one represented on one side of the vinyl) from darkness to light. Drawing on a wide range of influences, it feels almost unfair to call this a pop album. There’s plenty of hip hop and R’n’B to be heard, along with heavy notes of jazz and an almost cinematic/orchestral feel overall. I also don’t think it’s out of place to say there’s some musical theatre influences dotted throughout This Music May Contain Hope too.
Featuring the UK No. 1, RIAA Platinum-certified hit WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! alongside previously released singles including the soaring ballad Nightingale Lane and Click Clack Symphony (created with Hans Zimmer), the LP highlights RAYE’s continued artistic evolution.
The album also features a vast range of additional contributions from Al Green, the London Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Tom Richards), Flames Collective Choir, RAYE’s sisters Amma and Absolutely and her Grandad Michael (the track on which he is featured, Fields, is probably the most wholesome thing you’ll hear in a long time). These are complemented by co-production from Mike Sabath, Tom Richards, Chris Hill, Pete Clements, Jordan Riley, and Punctual.
Speaking on the album, RAYE shares: “Music is medicine, I’ve always said that. I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
This music may contain hope opens with a spoken word track and this technique is used in many ways throughout the album. I like the variety of this and the way it allows the messages of the tracks to truly land, bring in others’ voices, or add a little lightness to some of the darker moments. I particularly enjoyed the use of the different voices on Life Boat. Placed midway through the album this song is the pivot point where it begins to switch to a more hopeful sound sonically, and that defiant optimism that’s such a feature of the album really shines. The repeated mantra of “I’m not giving up yet” throughout the track reflects that idea that hope is something you have to work on and constantly remind yourself of, and its upbeat dance moments reflect the underlying happiness that can come from this resilience.
By the time the album rolls around to hit single WHERE THE HELL IS MY HUSBAND! we’re definitely hitting the more joy filled, upbeat part of the journey before ending on a high with Fin which, as I’m listening, I can hear my college music teacher’s voice in my head rejoicing at its use of both ascending pitch and fast tempo to evoke feelings of happiness in the most Disney meets Wicked way you’ll ever hear. I love how RAYE looks at the notion of hope through such a variety of emotions, ranging from self despair to frustration to ultimately humour. It sent a powerful message about the complexity of humanity, and also acts as a powerful blueprint on how to make an album such as this. It’s not a one dimensional journey, and it’s the beautiful complexity of it all that makes it excellent.
I feel like I’ve done this all back to front, and I’ve skipped forward to the end of the album (and this review) without really acknowledging the beginning. I actually really appreciated the first “season”. While I loved the whole album the first few tracks are possibly my favourite. I enjoyed those hints of darkness and the little sharp edges in there. RAYE doesn’t lead you gently into this journey, she wants to you step up and take notice from the very start and I think it’s fitting to acknowledge we go on this journey from girl under a storm cloud to Disney princess in a little over an hour.
I also have to give a little nod to I hate the way I look today. I love the juxtaposition between the fun jazzy number and the actually quite sad subject matter. She weaves humour into this to lighten it a little and this is another track that definitely screams of those musical theatre influences. I think this is the number that if you come back to me in three months, it will have stuck as a favourite.
Anyway, in summary, I adored this release. RAYE has done a wonderful job of delivering an album that’s sad, fun and uplifting in roughly equal measures. It’s musically dynamic yet visionary in its intent. Please don’t jump around it like I have in my review – I swear before replaying a few of my favourites, I listened start to finish at least three times and it’s the only way to fully appreciate This Music May Contain Hope.
Listen to This Music May Contain Hope here.
Find out more about RAYE here.