A highly entertaining, exuberantly stylish, cross-genre 17-track, 73-minute odyssey by the London popstar, with a huge musical show of a second LP, spanning swing-era jazz to soul, R&B, house music, pop, dance, gospel, classical and the full kitchen sink, with orchestral band, family members, Hans Zimmer, and even Al Green. With wittily indulgent, melodramatic spoken sections, starting with the ensuing adventures of a lonely girl in a Parisian bar “seven negronis down”, and all manner of characters, it has the full swish of a grand curtain, with al team of co-songwriters and an orchestral soundtrack summoning the feel of Hollywood’s golden era. Raye, aka Rachel Keen, seems completely in her element, even with track involving her grandfather and grandmother’s spoken voices and elsewhere electro-swing numbers reminiscent of the Andrews Sisters. It is jam-packed with breathless pace, opulent lyricism, energy and ideas. From opener Girl Under The Grey Cloud all the way to closer Fin with romantic Hollywood swirl and explanatory commentary and huge credit list, it feels like an epic musical movie to accompany her luxuriantly titled current ongoing tour. From Beyoncé-style R&B pop bangers such as the Crazy In Love-reminiscent single Where is My Husband!, or Beware: The South London Lover Boy, there’s clever, agile, wordplay, rap, R&B talky drama with orchestral accompaniment, such as The WhatsApp Shakespeare, or the rhythmic pop arias on Click Clack Symphony co-created with movie soundtrack composer Hans Zimmer, the R&B soul-jazz Goodbye Henry includes a charming explained entry by the great Al Green, the uplifting pumping gospel-pop of Joy involving her own sisters Amma and Absolutely, or the talky number Fields involving Grandad Michael. Indulgent? Over the top? Totally, but also enormous, exuberant, and infectious fun, as RAYE puts out this independent, and full-throttle release, dipping with vivacious skill into all the music she loves. Out on Human Re Sources.
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