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Singer-songwriter Raye kicked off February making waves with her debut studio album My 21st Century Blues.
Lyrically, the album explores a spectrum of struggles including addiction, insecurity, body dysmorphia and sexual assault, and is the British performer’s first project as an independent artist.
And no longer restrained by a label that might want her to be ‘polite’ or do what needs to be done to remain popular, the album is drawing plaudits for its honesty and sonic diversity.
“There’ll be songs you might hate and songs you might love,” Raye, born Rachel Agatha Keen, told Rolling Stone magazine.
“It’s a mosaic of different fragmented pieces from the last seven years of my life with no sonic consistency, and no holding back.”
The 15-track album was supported by five singles - Hard Out Here, Black Mascara, Escapism featuring 070 Shake, The Thrill Is Gone, and Ice Cream Man.
Recorded in “a log cabin in Utah” and distributed by the Human Re Sources label, Raye attributes her healing from her struggles to the song writing process.
“Some of these songs have helped me process,” she explained. “I had just been needing to hear them in a more beautiful form. Like body dysmorphia - it sounds so ugly in my head, but when you put it into that song, it makes it a little bit easier for me to digest.
“A lot of these stories are very medicinal and very raw and therapeutic for me. I think it’s been really important for me to take it there, as hard as it’s been sometimes.”
My 21st Century Blues is now available on all major music streaming platforms.
