Gretta Ray charges optimism and self-assuredness in her awesome new indie-pop sophomore album "Posit

This week saw Gretta Ray drop her awesome indie-pop sophomore album, titled “Positive Spin”. Showcasing her optimism and self-assuredness over 12 tracks, Gretta Ray stuns with incredible vocals and words that come from the heart. The final track on the album sees features from Maisie Peters and Carol Ades. This acts as the official follow-up to her EP, titled “Don’t Date the Teenager”.

Gretta Ray, hailing from Melbourne, Victoria, is a remarkable Australian singer-songwriter who has soared from her Triple J Unearthed win in 2016 and winning the Vanda and Young Global Songwriting Prize, in the same year. Her debut album, “Begin to Look Around”, released in 2021, garnered nominations for an ARIA Music Award and a J Award, solidifying her standing as an artist of undeniable promise. Her musical journey transitioned from indie folk to embracing pop as her primary genre, showcased in her albums and EPs. With a distinctive flair for conversational, emotive lyrics, she’s captured hearts and charted her own path. Her enchanting covers, like the poignant rendition of Billy Joel’s “Vienna”, have garnered viral attention, going on to gain over 21 million Spotify streams, while her collaborations with fellow artists such as Dustin Tebbutt and Gang of Youths underscore her versatility. She continues to capture listeners around the world with the track she won the Triple J Unearthed award, titled “Drive”, which currently has over 16.6 million Spotify streams. With her captivating melodies and powerful songwriting, Gretta Ray has firmly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the Australian music scene, leaving an indelible mark on listeners worldwide.

Talking about the release of her sophomore album, Gretta Ray said: “Sometimes I really envy my teenage self, and at times I even feel intimidated by her achievements… but then I remember how much I had to learn back then, and how grateful I am to know what I know now. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Stream “Positive Spin” by Gretta Ray on Spotify here:

The album starts off with the title track, “Positive Spin”, which showcases this album perfectly, allowing listeners to see her positive mindset, her gorgeous vocals, and her awesome indie-pop beat. Sending out self-confidence vibes, Gretta Ray lifts up all her listeners around a fluid upbeat backing track, full of strength and empowered vibes – what a way to start her sophomore album. “Upgraded” follows next, with a poignant lead guitar backing beat that is followed by hard-hitting drums as Gretta Ray delves into how her ex-lover is in her past and she’s now in a better place overall. It’s an addictive track with a catchy chorus that is set to get stuck in the listeners’ heads. The next track on the album is “Nobody Here”, which slows the album down, giving a prominent drum-rhythm backing track, stripping it down and allowing Gretta Ray’s gorgeous vocals to shine. Relatable throughout, this track really brings her songwriting skills to life as she wraps words around her vocals in hypnotizing energy as she lyrically admits that she still thinks of her ex. “Heartbreak Baby” changes the tempo, giving an upbeat progressive indie-pop vibe that we are absolutely loving. As soon as the chorus hits the backing track explodes and Gretta Ray follows suit giving impressive vocals around absolutely stunning poetic lyrics full of heart and honesty about how she’s feeling and what it’s like to be heartbroken and why that makes her an incredible person – heartbreak babies love hard and they are always the best people to be around.

Track five is “Dear Seventeen”, which is a letter to her younger self, and has already gone viral on social media with people uploading images of their 17-year-old selves. She goes on to send advice to herself, and in turn, give advice to her listeners, no matter what age they are. This is an iconic indie-pop ballad. Up next is “Don’t Date the Teenager”, making it the perfect track to follow “Dear Seventeen”, as Gretta Ray hits out at her ex with a rhythmic vibe that lifts up the entire album as she discusses experiences she dealt with. The upbeat track is soulful, addictive, and an earworm and a half. “Loving Somebody” is track seven, delving into a heartful pop-ballad that’s wistful and dreamy with Gretta Ray reflecting on her past relationship and her own self, showing to her listeners that loving yourself is so important. Track eight is next, titled “The Cool Boy”, which keeps the pop-ballad vibe from the previous track but puts a more positive spin as she describes someone she’s falling for and the gentle progression of the track slides nicely behind her awesome voice before showing an addictive instrumentation segment that makes this indie-pop ballad stand out for all the right reasons.

“Can’t Keep It Casual” is a story-telling track keeping the previous indie vibe and personifying it and making it upbeat as Gretta Ray sides with mainstream indie-rock momentum. Addictive and infectious, we’ve all been in this position and can effortlessly relate to the story she is singing about and we can feel every single beat and lyric. Track nine is “You’ve Already Won” which throws vocals in first allowing Gretta Ray to be strong and powerful vocally and lyrically. The beat kicks in after the middle of the first verse, with her poetic lyrics describing the scenes of what it was like to experience life on the road after the pandemic, with optimism and positivity flowing through her in every way. A unique instrumental solo personifies the track and brings further life to a song about living life. She continues to describe scenes, bringing the listener into her world, all mixed around a mainstream-pop backing beat that is truly unforgettable. The late chorus hits differently spreading positiveness and assuredness that life will be good again and the world will return to the way it once was, as it had done, whilst she also tells her listeners not to take it for granted. “Light On” follows, bringing back her signature indie-pop style with her lyrics delving into a moment in time and where she is in her life with someone she likes and how much of a good connection they have compared to the car crash second date going on behind them. The final track on the album, titled “American Forever”, sees Maisie Peters and Carol Ades feature in a stripped-back addictive number. Gretta Ray is joined by an acoustic guitar rhythm that progresses into a positive beat as she delves into a confession and how she is loving her life and settling in America. Gorgeous vocal interpolations and harmonies are brought by these three amazing artists and it ends the album perfectly.

Stream “You’ve Already Won”, our favourite track from the album, on YouTube here:

“Positive Spin”, by Gretta Ray, is available to download and stream, right now, across all platforms, via Welcome to Ballarat Pty Limited.

Let us know what you make of “Positive Spin” by Gretta Ray on Twitter @CelebMix.

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