Gretta Ray today announces the release of her sophomore album Positive Spin, an album that comes to you bathed in golden light, a hazy sunset of love and heartbreak, growth and understanding… a project full of beautiful moments of classic and emotive pop set for release on August 18 and available for pre-order now.
2021’s Begin to Look Around captured the magical sound of an artist coming into the world. Positive Spin matches the energy and melodic-high of the critically acclaimed debut with a new layer of complexity. Ray’s confidence, and capacity for reflection and grace resonate across her second full-length release. Positive Spin is charged with the rosy glow of “optimism… Songwriting is so therapeutic, and my way of moving through my emotions has been to put a positive spin on my experiences”.
That optimism comes full circle with new single ‘Heartbreak Baby’. Charting the exquisite pain of a 20-something break-up in the verse, then hooking you in with a crooning chorus that will have you scream-singing along by your second listen. It’s a brilliant and bubbly earworm of a realisation that embracing who you are has to come at the hard times, as well as the good: “I shine bright when you break me / that’s what makes me a heartbreak baby”.
GRETTA RAY ‘THE BIG POP SHOW’ NATIONAL TOUR
FRI 15 SEP – PRINCESS THEATRE, BRISBANE, QLD (LIC/AA)
SAT 16 SEP – METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY, NSW (LIC/AA)
FRI 22 SEP – NORTHCOTE THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC (18+)
SAT 23 SEP – ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH, WA (LIC/AA)
FRI 29 SEP – LION ARTS FACTORY, ADELAIDE, SA (LIC/AA)
SUN 1 OCT – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE, VIC *U18 MATINEE
‘Heartbreak Baby’ follows on from album teaser track ‘Dear Seventeen’ which released two weeks ago is already making a dent on social media, with fans uploading pictures and reels of themselves at seventeen, it’s a straight-up ode to her younger self, “sweet brunette dream, miss seventeen”. Ray is good-natured but cheeky, led by a low-fi guitar and a heart on her sleeve as she reflects on the past near-decade and what her successes and failures (and love for Taylor Swift) have brought her: “dear seventeen, don’t change a thing / when you don’t look before you fall / dear seventeen, don’t change a thing / when you don’t know a thing at all”.
From a Triple J Unearthed win in 2016, to the Vanda and Young Global Songwriting Prize, it’s hard to imagine a more impressive start for Gretta Ray. Her 2021 debut album Begin to Look Around was nominated for both an ARIA Music Award (Breakthrough Artist – Release) and a J Award (Australian Album of the Year). Add to that a sold-out headliner tour in 2022, an Australian arena tour supporting Gang of Youths and a viral – moment – with her poignant and entirely breathtaking cover of Billy Joel’s ‘Vienna’ on TikTok (a dazzling high that has so far hit over 20 million streams, 350 million views, 35 million likes and half a million creates across socials, globally).
Positive Spin does what every sophomore album hopes for, it both extends and refines the work of the artist. The tone and agility of Ray’s vocals give her lots of room to play, and her maturity as both a songwriter and a performer is evident. Her last album brought with it a sold-out headliner tour, and support shows to arenas nationally – a real baptism by fire when it comes to honing your craft.
Ray feels entirely at home in herself with this album, making and embracing her best and most honest work yet: “Being in pop music and being a woman in pop music… your perception of where you’re at can get very warped. I’m starting to really settle into my mid-20s… I feel stronger now than I ever have… I am so much more equipped to do the job now, and to be this person now… I feel really empowered by the knowledge that I have gotten, over the years of experience that I have had in this industry”.