RAYE

If there was ever such a thing as ‘musical catharsis’, RAYE’s debut is it. I simply cannot breathe a bad word about this project. Sonically cohesive, versatile, emotional and raw. The list is totally endless. Thematically, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ effortlessly transitions from uncompromisingly honest experiences of sexual and substance abuse (‘Ice Cream Man’, ‘Escapism’, ‘Mary Jane’) to anthemic records alluding to the importance of remembering one’s self worth and potential (‘Flip a Switch’ and ‘Worth It’).

Writing from the perspective of someone who has followed RAYE’s career since the release of her major-label EP ‘SECOND’, ‘elation’ exists as the dominate emotion I’m experiencing now that I am able to first-hand witness the Croydon superstar relishing her moment of glory. A deeply personal record, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ was incepted, recorded and released exclusively on RAYE’s terms and comes nearly two years after she split from Polydor Records, the British-based Universal music label marketing her solely as a dance-pop artist. The album is characterised by ‘risk’. Not only lyrically, but also, in the sense that an independent release equates to no monetary or promotional support from a record company. Yet, it was RAYE’s self-belief in the commerciality and relatability of her music which ultimately brought the LP to fruition.

The first track, the appropriately titled ‘Introduction’, sets the scene for the album and is an efficacious attempt to put the listener in the shoes of a typical jazz-club regular, with only a soft piano instrumental and an American compere to be heard. However, we are quickly exposed to the poetic grit that comes with hearing the album’s second track, ‘Oscar Winning Tears’, RAYE’s musically live-string reference to a gaslighting ex-boyfriend who is clearly most comfortable with adopting a victim complex. Tracks three, four and five are ‘Hard Out Here, Black Mascara and Escapism’ respectively. Each of these songs were issued as singles to promote the album, with the third, the 070 Shake assisted banger that is ‘Escapism’, achieving TikTok virality and subsequently, the summit of the UK singles chart. It was arguably this song which catapulted RAYE from feature vocalist to global stardom – a status she has long deserved since the inception of her musical career. We then move to ‘Mary Jane’ – Keen’s ode to addiction and drug abuse. Sonically, this is one of my favourite tracks on the album, an opinion I credit to its striking evolution from the Ella Fitzgerald-esque diction, slow tempo lay to a bass-heavy, typically signature R&B infused RAYE song. The audibly upbeat nature of the album’s seventh track, ‘The Thrill is Gone’, fails to prepare us for the melodically powerful and elegiac songs that follow, namely ‘Ice Cream Man, Flip A Switch, Body Dysmorphia, Environmental Anxiety and Five Star Hotels’. The five aforementioned tracks each independently describe an element of trauma the British star has experienced and collectively, are daringly composed into a harmonious body-of-work, the intention of which, she hopes, is to make others struggling feel less alone. The album closes with ‘Worth it’, ‘Buss It Down’ and ‘Fin’ – three tracks which mark a cyclical return to the piano and live string/brass instrumentation that defined the opening tracks. Gorgeous.

As platitudinous as it sounds, this is only the beginning for RAYE. A born super-star chasing her dreams, ‘My 21st Century Blues’ will indisputably establish her as one-to-watch and, perhaps even more satisfyingly, leave Polydor kicking themselves over shelving and sleeping on Rachel Keen.