It has been a long, arduous winter. The sun has been setting before the day can even fully begin and the cold has lingered past its welcome, robbing hope from those of us in its path. Life has felt harsher, smaller and full of loss.
But if you think back, do you remember how the rays of the sun warming your skin felt, or what the sound of flowers in full bloom rustling in a gentle summer was?
Just as we begin to thaw, British singer-songwriter RAYE returns with “THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE,” which arrives with a narrative of her experiences and a reminder that healing is possible even when it seems bleak.
RAYE, born Rachel Agatha Keen, from London, England, has been behind the scenes of the music industry for nearly a decade writing for and lending background vocals to some of the biggest names in music, but has recently finally blessed the industry (and our ears) by creating two full studio albums. Keen has a diverse range of inspirations, including the obvious — Etta James, Nina Simone — the iconic — Amy Winehouse, Rihanna — and the unique — like Drake and The Arctic Monkeys.
Keen is most known for her song, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND”, an electric single (ironically) released last year but now featured in her new album that released Friday. She is finally stepping into the spotlight not to chase another hit, but to tell a story, and there is still no sophomore slump to be found.
“THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.” feels like a return to something now rare in modern music: artists expressing and working through their problems, celebrations, thoughts and experiences — not to gain popularity, but to gain healing. Her album was constructed with love and intention, tracing a journey through heartbreak, identity, faith and healing from its opening exposition to its final appreciations.
Sonically, Keen refuses to stay in one lane. She moves effortlessly through big band, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, spoken word and even cinematic score-like arrangements, aided by Hans Zimmer (an extreme honor given to very few music artists), all while adding her unique flair to each genre. Additionally, each track is intentional and not experimental for its own sake — each song seems to reflect the story arc of Keen’s life that she has observed and now is presenting to us.
The inclusion of spoken word adds a sort of intimacy–and is not the sort of slam poetry that most artists seek to emulate–making certain tracks feel less like songs and more like confessions. Keen’s first song on the album, “Intro: Girl Under The Grey Cloud,” is one of the many fourth-wall breaks that bring a unique invitation to her work.
It sets the stage with her narration of a beautifully dressed woman who is seven Negronis deep, alone on the streets of Paris, starting the listener at “the catalyst,” as she says, of “a girl under the grey cloud [that] must finally make way for the rain.” Here, Keen literally sets the scene for what is to come, the story she is about to share.
What sets this album apart, besides the extremely successful genre fusions, is Keen’s self-awareness and honesty. In the aforementioned song, the persona of the girl under the grey cloud has made an effort to look appealing, implying a hopeful interaction that could lead to love, but instead, “No one at the bar would notice her efforts/ Though disappointed, she is no stranger to rejection.”
This hits, because I think I can speak for most, if not all of us that hoping for something, especially on your hierarchy of needs, and not receiving it is crushing.
One of my favorite moments of Keen being self-aware in this album is her track “Goodbye Henry,” which has a sung disclaimer at the start saying that this is a sad song, and yet is accompanied by a joyful sound. These lyrics are also crushing, and she knows that, but presents her melancholic thoughts through a medium and tone that seek to look for light in a situation.
Another track in the self-aware vein of songs, Keen’s “Beware… The South London Lover Boy” and “The WhatsApp Shakespeare,” turn relatable characters and situations into comedy. We have all known that one man who is charming but will absolutely eat you alive. Who probably drives an all-black car, is dressed in all denim and will eat you (and the 6 other leading ladies in their WhatsApp cast) alive if given the chance.
This album is rampant with poignant emotion, imagery and experience wrapped in music that moves.
Across the album, her writing feels like pages torn from a journal. Her honesty never feels performative, but lived-in. She has experienced great despair and now can comfort the listener through rhythm and verse.
What a great message to be giving. A whole song devoted to the phrase “I’m not giving up yet” may seem pithy, especially with voice-overs of people with many accents and ages. However, the call-and-response parts invite the listener into the song’s discourse, encouraging them in the form of liturgy. There is much Christian imagery scattered throughout this album, and so I encourage each reader to give a listen.
If you couldn’t tell, I fear that I am the target audience for this album — it has certainly been a year of all time. Also, consider that I am currently writing as a fully single woman on a Christian college campus who has not found (nor is interested in at this point) a ring by spring.
I will be the first to admit that that feels lonely sometimes, and that Keen’s song “Happier Times Ahead.” opens with a verse that unfortunately extremely clocked me but simultaneously makes me glad that the lyrics exist for people feeling like this: “Somewhere on a Saturday morning, there’s a girl in a window/ Watching people passing by as she clutches on her aching heart.”
Likewise, the track “I Know You’re Hurting” offers those who may focus more on others some encouragement within a loving and personable envelope, with conversational “I” and “you” language.
“THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE” might just become an iconic success. An album like this is not background music, but is meant to be savored and sat with. Modern consumers may have a problem with this. There is no Subway Surfers gameplay to divide your attention with, no Kendrick Lamar feature to idolize over and it just may not be for everyone.
So if you are the person who is not in a season of darkness or can’t empathize with those who are, you may not understand or be impacted by Keen’s new music. But I guarantee there are people like me who will.
“Music is medicine,” Keen explained in an interview for Relevant Magazine. “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.”
In choosing to be this self-aware, honest and masterful, Keen creates something that feels rare: music that doesn’t just sound good, but is from another living person (not just their lyrics) who understands herself and you deeply.
