Album Review: Raye – THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.

Raye’s recent rise is something of a musical fairytale. Having been in the industry for more than ten years, writing for others as well as featuring as an unnamed singer, she finally saw the success she deserved in 2023 with her debut album My 21st Century Blues. Since then, she has had hit after hit, including cassio’s Prada, and Susanne alongside Mark Ronson. Now, after her triumphant return to her solo work at the end of 2025, she’s dropped the extravagant THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.

The theatrics begin immediately and flow through to the end. This isn’t just an album, it’s a visceral experience. The intro sets the scene, bringing in the orchestra and sound effects of thunder and rain while Raye talks through proceedings. I Will Overcome. waltzes to a moody melody while Raye sings lowly of her troubles with loneliness and fame, haters and lovers. The arrangements are brash and boisterous, flares of brass and string swells raising the drama to extreme heights. There’s a self-awareness over the melodrama, however, emphasised in areas such as the fake accent and cackling laughter on Beware.. The South London Lover Boy. and the rhythmic change on the back half of the excellent The WhatsApp Shakespeare., “oh, he’s a cursive kisser,” being a lyrical highlight.

There’s a number of great features on the album, not least Raye’s own grandfather Michael who appears in the form of a conversation on Fields. It’s a beautiful, soulful track that talks about growing up and life as a whole, whilst linking Raye’s musical journey back to her grandad. Joy. features London’s own Amma and Absolutely, both lending their powerful vocals to the blazing beat. Another surprise feature comes in the form of famed composer and performer Hans Zimmer who appears on the filmic and explosive Click Clack Symphony. Al Green also makes an appearance on Goodbye Henry., introduced during a song that talks in a referential way about people past and present. They line an already stacked back half of the record, with songs like Happier Times Ahead. and WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! completing the mix. Fin. acts as an end credits to an album that plays in many ways like a movie.

THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. is a vast, experimental, honest and heartfelt album, one that could only be achieved by someone with this much experience and expertise. Every song sounds immaculate, verging on excessive but containing enough fourth-wall breaking self awareness and humour to pull it back from the precipice. It’s a record made with heart that pulls no punches, and still manages to have ‘singles’ despite being an experience to be listened to from start to finish. 

Ryan Bulbeck

Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.