This Music May Contain Hope

This Music May Contain Hope.
Studio album by Raye
Released	27 March 2026 (2026-03-27)
Recorded	2024–2026
Genre	Jazz R&B big band soul
Length	73:30
Label	Human Re Sources
Producer	Pete Clements Chris Hill Punctual Raye Tom Richards Jordan Riley Alex Robinson Mike Sabath Toneworld Hans Zimmer
Raye chronology
Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (2024) This Music May Contain Hope. (2026)
Singles from This Music May Contain Hope.
"Where Is My Husband!" Released: 19 September 2025 "Nightingale Lane" Released: 27 February 2026 "Click Clack Symphony" Released: 20 March 2026

This Music May Contain Hope. (stylised in all caps) is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Raye, released on 27 March 2026 through Human Re Sources. The album consists of 17 tracks including the lead single "Where Is My Husband!", which became Raye's second number-one on the UK singles chart.

Background and theme

Music is medicine, I've always said that. I guess I'm in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it's going to be all right, and I'm going to have faith in the seeds that I've planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it.

— Raye, talking about the album's theme ^[1]

Raye explained that she was creating "medicine" for herself that could "share with the world". ^[2] She further expressed a desire to convey faith in personal growth during difficult periods, likening the process to trusting "the seeds that I've planted beneath the snow", and stated that she wanted the album to function as "a hug, bed or soft place" for those in need of emotional support. ^{[3] [4]}

Composition

Consisting of 17 tracks with a total runtime of 73 minutes, This Music May Contain Hope. is structured around four distinct "seasons"; autumn, winter, spring and summer with each side of the vinyl representing the different seasons. This Music May Contain Hope is intended to "span the complexities of human emotion". ^[5]

Release and promotion

On 19 September 2025, Raye released "Where Is My Husband!" as the lead single from her second studio album. She made the album available for pre-order and revealed that it would be released in 2026. ^[6] On 22 January 2026, she announced that the album, titled This Music May Contain Hope, would be released on 27 March, through Human Re Sources. ^[7] The track listing contains 17 songs, including "Where Is My Husband!". ^{[8] [9]} She told Elle that the record's intro and first track would be "Girl Under the Gray Cloud" and "I Will Overcome", respectively. ^[10] To promote the album, Raye has embarked on a concert tour entitled This Tour May Contain New Music in January 2026, which is set to conclude in May of the same year. The tour will span 51 shows across Europe and North America. ^[11]

On 27 February 2026 the second single, "Nightingale Lane", was released with an accompanying video of a live performance with The Flames Collective and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Abbey Road Studios in London, England. ^[12] The album's third single, "Click Clack Symphony" featuring German film composer Hans Zimmer, was released on 20 March 2026 alongside a music video directed by Dave Meyers. ^[13]

On release day, 27 March, Raye went live on Tiktok for a release listening party. As part of this she revealed further insight into the background of the tracks. In particular, she revealed the intro of “Beware.. The South London Lover Boy.” was modelled off David Attenborough, originally intending for him to narrate the opening, but failing to work out how to do so.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.5/10 [14]
Metacritic	90/100 [15]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	8/10 [16]
The Daily Telegraph	[17]
DIY	[18]
The Guardian	[19]
The Independent	[20]
MusicOMH	[21]
NME	[22]
Rolling Stone UK	[23]
Slant Magazine	[24]
The Times	[25]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , This Music May Contain Hope received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 from nine critic scores. ^[15] The review aggregator Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average score of 8.5 out of 10 from twelve critic scores. ^[14]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Rachel Keen.

This Music May Contain Hope track listing

No.	Title	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro: Girl Under the Grey Cloud"	Rachel Keen Chris Hill Tom Richards	Raye Hill Richards	1:12
2.	"I Will Overcome"	R. Keen Hill Richards	Raye Hill Richards Mike Sabath [c] Antoine Klein [a]	4:55
3.	"Beware.. The South London Lover Boy"	R. Keen	Raye Pete Clements [a]	3:26
4.	"The WhatsApp Shakespeare"	R. Keen Callum Au Richards Mike Sabath	Raye Sabath Hill [a] Richards [a]	3:56
5.	"Winter Woman"	R. Keen Hill Richards Toneworld	Raye Sabath Toneworld Hill [a] Richards [a]	4:23
6.	"Click Clack Symphony" (featuring Hans Zimmer)	R. Keen Sabath Hans Zimmer	Raye Zimmer Sabath	5:03
7.	"I Know You're Hurting"	R. Keen Graeme Blevins Matt Brooks Pete Clements Augie Haas Hill Paul Murray Richards Jordan Riley Oscar Steiler	Raye Clements Riley	6:18
8.	"Life Boat"	R. Keen Punctual Riley	Raye Riley Punctual	4:18
9.	"I Hate the Way I Look Today"	R. Keen Haas Hill Murray Richards Ed Richardson Steiler	Raye Hill Richards	3:30
10.	"Goodbye Henry" (featuring Al Green)	R. Keen Blevins Brooks Haas Hill Murray Richards Steiler	Raye Clements	5:22
11.	"Nightingale Lane"	R. Keen Hill Richards	Raye Hill Richards	5:02
12.	"Skin & Bones"	R. Keen Clements Sabath	Raye Sabath	3:14
13.	"Where Is My Husband!"	R. Keen Sabath	Raye Sabath	3:16
14.	"Fields" (featuring Grandad Michael)	R. Keen Danielle Bernard Blevins Michael Keen Murray Richards Alex Robinson Sabath Liv Thompson	Raye Sabath Robinson	4:12
15.	"Joy" (featuring Amma and Absolutely)	R. Keen Abby-Lynn Keen Lauren Keen Richards Sabath	Raye Richards Sabath	4:25
16.	"Happier Times Ahead"	R. Keen Blevins Brooks Clements Hill Richards Tom Walsh Joe Webb	Raye Clements	4:31
17.	"Fin"	R. Keen Hill Richards	Raye Hill Richards	6:27
Total length:				73:30

Notes

• All tracks except "Where Is My Husband!" are stylised with a full stop at the end.
• "Where Is My Husband!" is stylised in all caps.
• ^{^[c]} indicates a co-producer
• ^{^[a]} indicates an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ^[26]

Musicians

• Rachel Keen – lead vocals
• Chris Hill – arrangement (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 17), bass guitar (2, 3, 9, 11, 13), double bass (4), synthesizer (7)
• Tom Richards – arrangement (1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 17), piano (2), background vocals (3, 9, 15), saxophone (3, 16), programming (4), glockenspiel (9), tenor saxophone (10), piano (11)
• The London Symphony Orchestra – instrumentation (1, 2, 5, 7, 11)
• James Maddren – drums (2, 11)
• Katy Hill – soprano (2)
• Trevor Mires – brass (3), trombone (4, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16)
• Paul Murray – electric guitar (3, 7, 10, 11, 14, 16), background vocals (3, 9)
• Matt Brooks – drums (3, 7, 10, 14, 16), background vocals (3, 9, 15)
• Graeme Blevins – saxophone (3, 9, 13, 15, 16), alto saxophone (10)
• Danielle Bernard – organ (3, 9, 16), background vocals (3, 14, 15), piano (7)
• Pete Clements – background vocals (3, 9, 15), bass guitar (7), synthesizer (10), arrangement (16)
• Dan Ellis – percussion (3, 9, 13), saxophone (16)
• Mike Sabath – background vocals (3, 9, 15), bass guitar (13)
• Liv Thompson – background vocals (3, 15), bass guitar (10, 14, 16)
• Aaron Emanuel – background vocals (3, 15)
• Jesse McGinty – trombone (3), arrangement (16)
• Ryan Quigley – trumpet (3)
• Dan Oates – violin (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Kirsty Mangan – violin (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Matthew Ward – violin (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Paloma Deike – violin (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Sam Kennedy – violin (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Emma Owens – viola (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Rachael Lander – cello (4, 8–10, 15, 16)
• Joe Webb – piano (4, 9, 12, 16), synthesizer (10)
• Callum Au – trombone (4, 9, 12, 15), instrumentation (7, 16)
• Tom Walsh – trumpet (4, 9, 10, 12, 15, 16)
• Andy Wood – trombone (4, 9, 12, 15)
• George Hogg – trumpet (4, 9, 12, 15)
• Mike Davis – trumpet (4, 9, 12, 15)
• Tom Dennis – trumpet (4, 9, 12, 15)
• Nichol Thomson – trombone (4, 9, 15)
• Ed Richardson – drums (4, 9)
• Hendric Buenck – arrangement (6)
• Russell Emanuel – arrangement (6)
• Charlie Paxson – cello (6)
• Roman Soto – percussion (6)
• Nashville Music Scoring Orchestra – instrumentation (6)
• Flames Collective – choir vocals (7, 11)
• Layla Ley – background vocals (7, 14)
• Patrice Copeland – background vocals (7, 14)
• Matthias Simmons – synthesizer (7)
• Kofi-William Osafo – spoken word (8)
• Howard McGill – saxophone (9, 12, 15)
• Jon Shenoy – saxophone (9, 12, 15)
• Mike Liserge – saxophone (9, 12, 15)
• Paul Booth – saxophone (9, 12, 15)
• Augie Haas – trumpet (9)
• Reverend Charles Hodges – organ (10)
• Tom Cawley – piano (11)
• Skin – saxophone (12)
• Distant Cowboy – cello (13)
• Grandma – spoken word (13)
• Ivan Malespin – trombone (13)
• Aaron Janik – trumpet (13)
• Mike Cordone – trumpet (13)
• Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi – violin (13)
• Rita Andrade – violin (13)
• Abby-Lynn Keen – lead vocals (15)
• Lauren Keen – lead vocals (15)
• Richard Phillips – cello (16)

Technical

• Alex Robinson – engineering
• Andrew Dudman – engineering (1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 17), mixing (1, 17)
• Chris Parker – engineering (1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 17)
• Mat Bartram – engineering (4, 9)
• Nick Spezia – engineering (6)
• Clay Jones – engineering (10)
• Liam Nolan – vocal engineering (15)
• Noah Urrea – vocal engineering (15)
• Joe Brice – additional engineering (4, 9, 10, 16), second engineering (3, 4, 9, 10), engineering assistance (11, 12, 15, 16)
• Paul Norris – additional engineering (4, 9, 15)
• Harpaal Sanghera – additional engineering (12), second engineering (3, 12, 14)
• Neil Dawes – second engineering (1, 2, 11, 17)
• Charlie Howe – engineering assistance (1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 17)
• Jules Bonnet – engineering assistance (2, 5, 6)
• Mollie Crammond – engineering assistance (2–4, 6, 7, 9–16)
• Sanjana Walia – engineering assistance (3, 4, 8–12, 14–16)
• Cecilia Griffin – engineering assistance (4, 7, 9–11, 13)
• Matis Herbouze – engineering assistance (5, 6)
• Paulin Guiraudon – engineering assistance (5, 6)
• Soledad Poussielgues Melia – engineering assistance (5)
• Scott McEwen – engineering assistance (10)
• Alex Pyle – engineering assistance (13)
• Isaac Allan – engineering assistance (13)
• Jon Castelli – mixing (2, 4–8)
• Tony Maserati – mixing (3, 10–16)
• Alan Meyerson – mixing (6)
• Chris Hill – mixing (9)
• Tom Richards – mixing (9)
• Mike Hillier – mastering (1–12, 14–17)
• Dale Becker – mastering (13)

References

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