Jazz-influenced artist RAYE’s sophomore album, “THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.,” released March 27, creates a cinematic experience within its track list and steps up the artist’s prowess as a composer. Grandiose orchestral instrumentation accentuates the emotion in the album, adding to RAYE’s lyrical vulnerability and her journey of healing from heartbreak and sadness.
RAYE’s debut album, “My 21st Century Blues,” released in February 2023, leaned into the jazz genre, a refreshing aspect amid so much formulaic pop. The album’s success introduced jazz to new audiences, all while narrating the end of an abusive relationship.
Her 2024 EP, “Genesis,” explored the societal expectations placed upon women and navigates RAYE’s own relationship trauma and self-image. The EP features jazz, pop, soul, and rap influences beginning with the first act’s orchestral intro, whereas the final act features a big jazz band.
This catalog set my expectations high for “THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.” While RAYE’s expertise as a singer-songwriter are front and center within this album, her use of instrumentation and vocal timbre changes further set this album apart from her past work.
The album’s first single, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!,” was released six months before the album. It describes RAYE becoming frustrated being single and having yet to find her soulmate. Featuring trumpets and saxophones, this song makes its jazz-pop influence evident immediately.
What I really appreciated was how RAYE used humor in her lyrics, asking for a husband she doesn’t have while creating an entire story of this fictitious husband cheating on her while he is gone.
RAYE sets this album up as a narrative project, establishing its flawed and weathered protagonist in the opening track, “Intro: Girl Under The Grey Cloud.”
The album ends with the track, “Fin.,” where RAYE concludes the album aided by heavenly background vocals and grand instrumentation, followed by her listing the entire credit list. RAYE provides a lasting sentiment for her listeners to remain optimistic through the lines “Come rain or come storms, we've got one little life / The sun has promised to shine all four beautiful seasons." Then, she credits her musical contributors in a way unlike any other artist by directly addressing them within the song itself .
One of my favorite tracks, “The WhatsApp Shakespeare.,” features RAYE’s voice grooving through the song’s instrumentation as she mentions the Biblical story of Eve and the Serpent. RAYE reframes this story to that of an online romantic manipulator, envisioning his tactics through the line, “As he lured me in like a lamb to the slaughter.”
This track continues the comical nature of RAYE’s lyrics, which are incorporated within theatrical instrumentation. For example, the track completely changes when RAYE begrudgingly discovers she is one of seven other women this man is messaging. Upon this realization, a drum roll feeds into music that feels straight out of an older ballroom in “James Bond,” ending in a dwindling “dun, dun, dun.”
Another track, “I Know You’re Hurting.,” is the epitome of the album’s themes of empathy and vulnerability. This song creates a welcoming environment where RAYE offers herself as a set of open arms to someone she cares for greatly. RAYE claims this loved one is battling inner chaos and depression, while outwardly presenting themself as content.
I feel RAYE’s message to this unknown subject can extend to listeners experiencing self-doubt. Her message to keep going inspired me. This aspect can extend to all listeners who have experienced pain, as RAYE encourages them to strive for brighter days ahead.
My favorite track, “Goodbye Henry.,” which features soul singer Al Green, acts as a bittersweet retelling to the ending of RAYE’s relationship. As both her and her love interest are shedding tears, she claims she only wishes him happiness and love. I felt that this representation of love related to my own experiences more, where the conclusion of a relationship is not as black-and-white as depicted in many breakup songs.
The album’s thematic cohesiveness throughout its runtime, amplified by a grand beginning and end, positions itself among the highest form of narrative listening experiences. RAYE explores intense and powerful themes such as self-acceptance, personal growth, heartbreak and navigating oneself in modern society.
