Ariana Grande is one of the two primary inspirations for Girl, the sophomore album from Girl Ray, out now on Moshi Moshi. The North London trio of Poppy, Sophie, and Iris (they don’t bother with last names) will be the first to tell you that this full-length follow-up to 2017’s then-teenaged Girl Ray’s earnestly twee offering Earl Grey is a decidedly poppier affair, losing itself in bouncy synths and windows-down vibes. “‘Thank U, Next’ came out and that kind of changed everything,” frontwoman Poppy says, describing her shift to songwriting on the computer with the addition of keyboards and synths.
The second primary motivation for the change in direction was the discovery that their pure pop-oriented playlists got the most attention (not a newsflash, but hey, pop is popular), and took that to heart regarding their own creative output, releasing Girl as the knowingly self-described “Girl Ray with synths” and expanding out their joyously intimate tracks, generously heaping on layer after gorgeous layer to come away with their sophomore album.
Girl is a collection of cheery uppers to bounce to as the world burns, eleven sonic rom-coms reveling in infatuation, friendship, and lust. Teaming up with Ash Workman at Electric Beach Studios in Margate, the trio incorporate new sounds and styles but still come out of it sounding just like Girl Ray. Yesterday’s charming indie ditties become today’s charming shimmery bops on the new album, blending pop, R&B, reggae, funk, and disco to create something fresh.
Title track “Girl” is a self-assured opener that calls to mind “Party in the U.S.A.” while lead single “Show Me More” sounds like a glitteringly warped version of “Get Lucky” if it were soundtracking the power-up montage of an 80’s movie showcasing a plucky protagonist preparing to stage her comeback. A few of Girl Ray’s tracks might benefit from some errant clicks by absent-minded streamers, like “Let It Go,” “Beautiful,” and “Because” (which leads off with the lyrics “Because the world is round”), but that’s a small complaint to note about an otherwise unique and promising band coming into their own.
Girl is an enchantingly lighthearted delusion of crushes and happy hours, composed with an escapist party of a live show in mind (influenced by their own tour with feel-good NYC synth-pop artist Porches). Girl Ray provides a summer fling of an album and makes it feel like an urgent necessity as we seemingly tick off our waning moments in these late-near-apocalyptic times.
Photo credit: Laura McCluskey
