Girl Ray - Prestige (2023) [Official Digital Download]

Arriving in early August, the third album from Girl Ray is a perfect summertime feel-good record. The North London trio takes a new spin on the dance floor, following up the R&B cool of 2019's Girl with a disco-inflected celebration of love, even the weird things it makes you feel. "True Love" is a sequin-glimmer bop, front loaded with spiky Bananarama bounce. "Everybody's Saying That" is breezy and modern, with a bridge formulated for throwing shapes and an infectious rushed chorus: "Everybody's saying that you could've done better/ But I really wanna end up with you." And "Up" cruises along on a disco-funk beat—courtesy of Sophie Moss' hip-swaying bass and slick guitar from singer Poppy Hankin, who sings of giddy new love undercut with self-doubt. It's a brooding mood that haunts the album's shimmering sound: "It feels unreal/ That you'd choose me as your one and only/ Tell me baby/ Safe in your arms/ Am I worthy of your charms?" "Love Is Enough," about missing a lover while away from home, channels summer-in-the-city heat and Luscious Jackson cool. "Begging You Now" chills out with icy synth squiggles, while "Wanna Dance"—leaning into the wah-wah—takes its sweet time. "Tell Me" boasts an oil-slick groove and sweeping diva-drama chorus, ready made for a roller disco afternoon. And "Hold Tight" gets incredibly romantic: "Your light is as warm as the sunshine/ Blazing down on the twist of our grapevine/ Talking shit in the grass would be just fine, my baby." It's a New Wave island kiss with a thudding ATL hip-hop drum beat that wouldn't be out of place on a Haim record; in fact, Hankin has said the song's production takes inspiration from that trio's Women in Music Pt. III. You can hear a little Haim, too, on the almost-ballad "Space Song," which could easily be used to track an emotional-climax movie scene: offering a sonic clue that the main character has learned their lesson and is resolved to make a course correction. Maybe about love?

TRACKLIST

1. Girl Ray - Intro
2. Girl Ray - True Love
3. Girl Ray - Up
4. Girl Ray - Everybody's Saying That
5. Girl Ray - Love Is Enough
6. Girl Ray - Hold Tight
7. Girl Ray - Begging You Now
8. Girl Ray - Easy
9. Girl Ray - Tell Me
10. Girl Ray - Wanna Dance
11. Girl Ray - Space Song
12. Girl Ray - Give Me Your Love



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