Trio’s second album solidifies solid sound
North London’s Girl Ray has been garnering considerable attention since their debut in 2018. Consistently making it on to “Bands to Watch” lists on both sides of the Atlantic, the time has come to acknowledge that people are, in fact, watching.
In existence for less than two years, Girl Ray has enjoyed a substantial degree of critical praise, fan appreciation, and most tellingly, work.
Interviews with the trio hover between playful and nonchalant, but the refreshing honesty with which they discuss their work (“When you’re miserable, you can only write miserable songs…”) and how their rising popularity creates something of a mystery.
Taken at face value, it’s easy to assume they’re just a group of friends who want to have some fun, but their fast-paced success suggests there’s much more at work than that. They are either extremely clever or extremely lucky and my money is on the former.
Of course the mystery may be no more complex than an approach in which the women manage to take their music seriously without taking themselves too seriously. Consisting of Poppy Hankin (vocals, guitar), Iris McConnell (drums), and Sophie Moss (bass), the group practices a sort of retro-pop that is perfectly willing to experiment with sound.
For instance, the upcoming release, Girl, leans heavily on vintage synth-pop sounds that, having lived through the heyday of that music, I can assure you is astonishingly authentic. It’s one thing to add the sound of an old synth to a band’s project, lots of bands do that.
What they miss, and what Girl Ray does so well, is capturing the playing style of a vintage synth. Yes, it is a specific thing from a specific era and I can’t say I’ve heard anyone else doing it, at least not with the skill of Girl Ray.
Pop, indie-pop, dance pop, lo-fi; these are all words that have been used to describe the band, but they are approximations only. I cannot escape the feeling that there is more at work here, and the new album introduces some surprises that speak to something deeper.
Of course “pop” as a descriptor is one step removed from “music” for all that it tells you about what they actually sound like, but the closest I can manage is to say that while it may not be something you’d listen to on headphones late at night while doing some heavy soul-searching, neither is it the background noise that so much other “pop” music is. Even when it’s just “fun,” there is still more depth than one expects from pop music.
And you can dance to it.
It’s certainly a different album from their initial release, though a certain core sound is present in both, but I wouldn’t be willing to say that what Girl Ray is, or is going to be, is summed up entirely in either release.
It isn’t that they haven’t “found” themselves, I am adamant that there is indeed a core sound that will continue to mark their future work, but there’s also an expansive element that leads me to believe that future albums will continue to explore the genre so that one day we can look back on their catalog and agree that while every album is absolutely Girl Ray, no two albums are exactly alike either.
A band to watch? Absolutely. They’ve already demonstrated a kind of breezy talent that suggests they’re full of surprises, all of which will share a common bond of superb musicianship and showmanship.
They know what they are about, moreso than bands with five times the experience, and if Girl doesn’t elevate them to an all new international status (it very well could, it’s very good) it at the very least is a clear indication that they are destined to dominate.