Album of the Week

Last week, Japanese British pop artist Rina Sawayama released her second album Hold the Girl. Initially when Rina started dropping singles from the album in the beginning of the year, the songs were not clicking with me especially "This Hell" and "Catch Me in the Air".  I also missed the nu metal/pop mash up I heard on her debut 2020 album. On Hold the Girl, the music is more pop orientated and subdued, and less angry sounding. After listening Hold the Girl in its entirety a few times, the singles that did not click with me, I began to warm up to them. 

Now that I have listened to Hold the Girl several times since its release, I now can say I really like the pop direction Rina chose to go with the second album. I really loved hearing her vocals free from the heavy metal guitar riffs, and what she is capable of as a vocalist especially on "Forgiveness", "Hurricanes", and "To Be Alive". Next to Muna's self-titled album, Hold the Girl" is my other favorite pop album of 2022.