The whole package gives the impression of someone with the luxury of a free rein. And if anyone has this gift, it’s the 28-year-old south Londoner. Raye’s blockbuster last album My 21st Century Blues netted her a record six Brit Awards in 2024 with its mixture of confessional jazz, balladry and R&B. Raye can do what she wants.
This Music May Contain Hope elevates Raye’s world view to cinematic proportions. It’s a concept album of sorts: a dazzling jazz-pop odyssey that oscillates between heartache, messiness and optimism and is chock full of fourth-wall-breaking tropes, right from its opening spoken lines: “Allow me to set the scene. Our story begins at 2.27am on a rainy night in Paris. Cue the thunder…”. Musically kaleidoscopic, the album takes in orchestras, choirs, jazz, funk, gospel, modern R&B, opera and samba-disco.