With every track on Rose Gray’s Louder, Please, I found myself repeating its title in an endless loop, helping to signify a new era in pop music where it’s returning to its more fun, engaging, and experimental roots. Louder, Please is Rose Gray’s debut album, where she creates a world which speaks about letting go and living in the moment, while also discussing love and expressing her unapologetic nature.
Rose Gray, a native of North London, has always been fascinated by music and this form of self-expression since childhood. Especially with the support of her parents, who were both artistically driven through acting. With this support and interest for pursuing music, it led her on a path where she began working within the music industry, learning about songwriting, vocal training, and eventually the harsh realities of this cutthroat industry. She eventually discovered her signature sound when she found herself working at the door of a London nightclub and inevitably understood what kind of music she wanted to create. This newfound love for underground music inspired her to write songs for herself and, slowly but surely, release her debut album, Louder, Please.
Like many of her musician counterparts, such as Charli XCX and Shygirl, Gray became inspired and gained a love for the London underground music scene. This gritty, fun, and expressive genre provided her with the perfect tools to express herself in a way that felt right. This is especially present in songs such as track 3, “Wet & Wild,” a punchy song which embraces her loud and unapologetic energy. While also a song where listeners can notice its synth-heavy and main character moment feeling, embracing musical aesthetics from artists who can be found in the London underground scene. What sets her apart from her counterparts, though, is her ability to embrace new genres within every single track. While she can be identified as an electronic pop artist, each track goes into different vibes, reminiscent of loud club music, to more intimate and emotional pop moments. For a debut album, Gray creates a piece which dives into her many talents and capabilities, and this is important since she’s introducing herself to a genre where most pop albums today sound more and more similar with each track.
A notable song in Gray’s album would have to be the second track, “Free.” This song talks about the importance of being grateful for your everyday life and how the best things in life are probably the things which go unnoticed. She expresses embracing every single thing, from as little as the anticipation of biting your nails, to falling in love, and these aspects in everyday life can be the best things in life, even if we don’t realize it. Gray also emphasizes the idea that in today’s society, it has been normalized to demand more, and creates this feeling where one can never feel fulfilled until they have every single thing in the world, when that is simply untrue. She expresses this statement through a catchy and typical pop beat, allowing every listener to resonate with this song and understand her message, something which she’s been able to do with each track on her album.
Rose Gray’s Louder, Please is an album which embraces so many different aspects of her life, such as the iconic London underground music scene, self-expression, and even the rush of falling in love with somebody. And especially with the rise of electronic pop music in today’s music scene, this album is perfect for those who are still being introduced to this genre. I’m excited to see what else Rose Gray will be creating and performing soon. From what I’ve seen, she can’t go anywhere but up.