She’s got a ton of singles and shorter EPs, and I kinda didn’t really care for any of them. There were bits and pieces that I thought were cool and fun; enough to catch my ear and get my hopes up, but not enough to consistently like her. There was just too much stuff that felt like bland pop, very eh.
She’s got two full studio albums, and they’re both a huge step up from her other stuff. My 21st Century Blues is pretty good, it’s decent. Her newest album, THIS ALBUM MAY CONTAIN HOPE. is awesome, it slaps. It’s very dramatic, very theatrical. It’s a whole production, and I think it works really well for it. It’s long, but here it actually feels appropriate. I dunno, I really like it, it’s a really neat work. I think it expresses so much of her in a way that is powerful and compelling, and I think it does it while sounding good, while being super well put together. I’m a big fan.
That’s most of what I’m judging her on, frankly. Yes, there’s a lot of stuff that I didn’t particularly care about, but that all so much didn’t even feel like the point, it didn’t feel like what RAYE is about, if that makes sense. There were pieces of her in it; I’m not calling it vapid or empty or worthless. I just don’t think it does a good job of defining her, at creating an image and a meaning for her to claim. It does it a little bit, but not a lot a bit. I think that if nothing else, THIS ALBUM MAY CONTAIN HOPE. does a fantastic job at giving her definition in that way.
And I really like it, so I’m inclined to say that on the whole of it, I really like RAYE. If her next release is disappointing, I think it would be super reasonable (and probably right) to drop her down to an A-. But right now, I think I’m willing to put forward the full A on just a little bit of faith, that the most recent thing she’s put out and that I like a lot is the thing that represents her accurately and will continue to represent her accurately as she continues to make music.
RAYE complete, now listening to: The Mellowells
