RAYE has released her highly anticipated second album, This Music May Contain Hope.
The project – which was delayed after her car containing her songbooks was stolen – is divided into four “seasons,” with each side of the vinyl marking a different stage in the story.
Explaining the concept, RAYE said she views music as a form of medicine and wanted the album to offer reassurance to anyone going through a difficult period.
She described the record as a place of comfort, built around the idea of trusting the work you have done even when progress feels slow.
She said: “Music is medicine, I’ve always said that. I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
The follow-up to 2023’s My 21st Century Blues marks a significant shift for the South London artist. The 17-track collection blends pop, R’n’B, jazz, big band, soul and orchestral elements, reflecting a wide creative range that mirrors the emotional transitions across the album. It explores heartbreak, uncertainty and rebuilding, presenting a clear picture of where RAYE has been and where she is heading.
The album closes with Fin, a track that reinforces the project’s central message about perseverance and perspective.
It acts as a final statement on the four-season structure and the journey she documents throughout the record.
She sings: “Hope is above the clouds to conclude/There and so it goes/And as it says on the tin, in the winds/That this May Contain Hope.”
The release features the UK No.1 hit Where Is My Husband! alongside previously released singles Nightingale Lane and Click Clack Symphony, the latter created with Hans Zimmer.
