Even when you’ve got solidified sound, you can hear something that resonates so strongly you have to follow suit and flip your own formulas. That’s absolutely the case for Poppy, Iris, and Sophie of North London, whose soft-rock outfit Girl Ray shifted towards R&B pop after hearing Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next”. It may be a fresh synth-y take on Girl Ray’s style but the tight-knit nature of this trio is instantly recognizable, with some thanks owed to Christine and the Queens engineer Ash Workman.
These changing tides are already embodied on Girl Ray’s appropriately and succinctly titled sophomore album Girl, and although the Winter grey is still out and about, you can slide into your own personal pseudo-summer with the record’s title track!
–Jack Anderson
