ALBUM REVIEWS
When she began uploading music online in 2017, Tate McRae’s signature asset became her technical dance skills – which soon defined her in a crowded landscape. Even within the whirlpool of social media, the Calgary native stood out: at age 13, she came in third place on the reality competition series, So You Think You Can Dance; half a decade later, she began initiating her ascent towards the mainstream with zippy, radio-ready songs that contended with the friction between vulnerability and her uber-confident artist persona.
Yet at some point on the journey to her 2022 major label debut ‘I Used To Think I Could Fly’, McRae’s gleaming pop sound slipped into autopilot. That record showed flashes of brilliance – lead single ‘She’s All I Wanna Be’ was revered for its emotional honesty, and quickly scaled the charts thanks to its ubiquity on TikTok – but otherwise felt uninspired. Its tracks were largely safe in their artistic choices, glossy and pleasant but not especially charismatic.
A bid for the big leagues, follow-up ‘Think Later’ is somewhat remarkable for its evolutions in McRae’s delivery and attitude. Her recent global hit, ‘Greedy’ – which remained atop the Spotify Viral 50 throughout the majority of November – has everything: real confidence, the trap-speckled beats of Ariana Grande’s ‘Thank U Next’ era and gymnastic melodies. The track also interpolates Nelly Furtado’s ‘Promiscuous’ – a flourish that would thrill any enthusiastic pop fan.
‘Think Later’ continues to position McRae as a much more versatile prospect. ‘Cut My Hair’ ventures into a rockier sound, a completely novel mode for the 20-year-old, and shares the energy of standout ‘Exes’. On the latter, backed by haunting laughter, McRae sends shots in every direction (“I don’t mean to be cold, but that’s how I get all my pride”) with the self-assurance of a young star currently holding court in the Gen Z pop arena.
These 14 tracks don’t roll along without any hiccups, however. As evidenced on the palatable ‘Messier’ or ‘Stay Done’, the middle section often lacks the spiky melodrama of the big, all-guns-blazing singles. The title track is a perfectly fine, if forgettable ballad, with a deep husk to McRae’s voice that will hopefully continue to grow in depth and power.
McRae is evidently still wrestling with her ambitions. ‘Think Later’, however, contains enough intrigue to suggest that this is the work of an artist finally honing their identity, dancing and sparkling all the way.
ALBUM REVIEWS
Grandeur sits at the heart of ‘This Music May Contain Hope’, RAYE’s second album, and the result feels nothing short of breathtaking. On this record, the singer born Rachel Keen explores a wide spectrum of sounds across its 73 minute length, moving from emotional ballads to lively funk moments and the jazz pop style she has become closely associated with. It can feel overwhelming at first, yet the magic that comes from RAYE fully committing to her vision makes the experience rewarding from start to finish.
‘This Music May Contain Hope’, a conceptual project about pushing through insecurity and heartbreak, unfolds like a lavish stage production. RAYE takes on the dual role of main character and guiding voice throughout the story. “Allow me to set the scene. Our story begins at 2:27am on a rainy night in Paris. Cue the thunder,” she says during the opening track ‘Girl Under The Grey Cloud’, which arrives with sweeping orchestral strings. Spoken passages appear across the album, helping shape the narrative and giving the project a sense of direction, almost like hearing the official recording of a Broadway show.
With this framework in place, the South London artist allows herself to fully explore the album’s diverse musical palette, and most of the time it works in her favor. Sometimes she fully embraces the theatrical side of the concept, especially during the closing section of the smooth R&B track ‘The WhatsApp Shakespeare’. Other moments are delivered more straightforwardly, such as the emotional slow building ballad ‘I Know You’re Hurting’. She also revisits her earlier dance influences with the impressive house track ‘Life Boat’.
Across the entire album, two things stand out clearly. RAYE’s flexible vocals sound better than ever, and her songwriting feels sharper than it has before. Take the playful highlight ‘I Hate The Way I Look Today’, a swing jazz inspired track reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald, where she admits “I’m okay to be lonely / If I’m lonely and skinny / I have such silly self-loathing thoughts, it seems”. Then there is the emotional storytelling in ‘Nightingale Lane’: “It was right there, early June / Next to Old Park Avenue / Standing in the rain, I watched him walk away”.
Despite all the vulnerability and emotional struggles explored throughout the record, RAYE ultimately reaches a place of optimism, staying true to the album’s title. She gathers her close friends on ‘Click Clack Symphony’ with support from Hans Zimmer, finds closure with guidance from Al Green on the smooth seventies soul inspired ‘Goodbye Henry’, and reaches toward something greater alongside her sisters Amma and Absolutely on the uplifting ‘Joy’ as she searches to be “free of all the pain and every fear”. After the stormy opening imagery of that “rainy night” and “thunder”, RAYE eventually realizes that “the sun exists behind the clouds”, as she shares on ‘Happier Times Ahead’.
‘This Music May Contain Hope’ shows RAYE performing at her absolute peak. The album feels huge in scale and emotionally powerful, yet it remains rooted in honest experiences and real feelings. Yes, it asks a lot from the listener, but that is also what makes it so special. Every dramatic moment and musical shift feels like RAYE claiming her independence and finally creating music entirely on her own terms.
