Delayed after her automobile containing her songbooks was stolen months ago, RAYE drops her highly anticipated second album, This Music May Contain Hope.
With each side of the vinyl version representing a different stage of the story divided into four “seasons,” RAYE explained the project;s concept as medicinal and wanted her full length to offer reassurance to anyone going through a difficult period.
Describing her collection as a place of comfort, built around the idea of trusting the work you’ve done even when progress feels close, the superstar singer/songwriter said:
“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.”
The British chanteuse’s follow-up to her 2023 My 21st Century Blues represents a shift in musical direction for the South London talent as the 17-track album blends pop, R’n’B, jazz, big band, soul and orchestral elements. Reflecting a creative range of emotional transitions across, the full length explores heartbreak, uncertainty and rebuilding, presenting a clear picture of where RAYE’s been and where she’s headed.
Emphasizing the collection’s central message of perseverance and perspective, the album closes with ‘Fin,’ that acts as a final statement on the four-season structure and the journey she documents throughout the record, as she sings “Hope is above the clouds to conclude/There and so it goes/And as it says on the tin, in the winds/That this May Contain Hope.”
Including previously released singles ‘Nightingale Lane’ and ‘Click Clack Symphony,’ the latter created with Hans Zimmer, the RAYE’s latest LP features the #1 UK hit ‘Where Is My Husband!’
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Drew de F Fawkes