Review: Nicole Rayy, All Woman

Nicole Rayy’s All Woman is stranger than it might appear on first listen – Rayy has sing-along hooks and country-pop bluster to spare, but she dresses her big choruses and traditional structures in odd textures and production details that place her songs subtly left of centre.  

The rapidly descending bass figure and liquid percussion that opens Fireproof; the clattering drumsticks that rattle beneath Remember You; the bouncy rhythm of Unfinished – Rayy’s textural choices lend an element of occasional danger to these songs. However, they’re still tempered by some run-of-the-mill pop patterns – closer Bad Habit features a particularly uninspired Millennial Whoop. 

Her lyrical choices also don’t always align with her somewhat adventurous production. The exclamation at the heart of Fireproof – “Baby I’m fireproof” – and its lighters and gasoline metaphors also feel too familiar to be exciting. 

Still, All Woman is a solid and generally satisfying listen. It feels like a taste of what Rayy could accomplish should she lean into her stranger instincts, a jumping off point to a bigger, weirder sound. 

All Woman was released March 27, 2020.
Listen to it here.