This Music May Contain Hope

This Music May Contain Hope

This Music May Contain Hope. (stylised in all caps) is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Raye, released independently through Human Re Sources on 27 March 2026. Raye wrote and co-produced the album with various collaborators, including Chris Hill, Mike Sabath, Tom Richards, and Hans Zimmer. It includes features from Zimmer, Al Green, and Raye's sisters; Amma and Absolutely. Sonically, the album incorporates sounds from genres including big band, jazz, R&B, soul, orchestral pop and electropop. Lyrically, it explores "the complexities of human emotion", and has been described by Raye as "something that is a hug, bed or soft place for that person who needs it".

Three singles preceded the release of the album; the lead single "Where Is My Husband!" was released on 19 September 2025, the second single "Nightingale Lane." was released on 27 February 2026, and the third single "Click Clack Symphony." was released on 20 March 2026. The former became Raye's second number-one on the UK singles chart and reached number six on the Billboard Global 200, while the latter two songs entered the top twenty on the UK charts.

Upon release, This Music May Contain Hope. was met with universal acclaim from music critics, and became the highest rated album of 2026 on the aggregation service Metacritic. To support the album, Raye embarked on a concert tour, This Tour May Contain New Music, which began in January 2026 and is set to conclude in May of the same year.

Background and theme

This Music May Contain Hope

Following the release of her acclaimed debut, My 21st Century Blues, in February 2023, Raye embarked on a three-year promotional cycle. J Erving, founder and CEO of Human Re Sources, attributed the overwhelming success of her debut and the anticipation for her second album to this extensive live presence, noting that these performances built a truly "organic" following.

Raye explained that she was creating "medicine" for herself that could "share with the world". 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.

Composition

This Music May Contain Hope

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".

Release and promotion

This Music May Contain Hope

On 19 September 2025, Raye made the album available for pre-order and revealed that it would be released in 2026. 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. The track listing contains 17 songs, and in an interview with Elle, Raye revealed that the record's intro and first track would be "Girl Under the Gray Cloud" and "I Will Overcome", respectively.

Live performances

Raye performing during the first stop of This Tour May Contain New Music on 22 January 2026 in Łódź, Poland.

Raye first performed material from This Music May Contain Hope. at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2025, with the live debut of "Where Is My Husband!", known at the time as "Where The Hell Is My Husband?". On 18 September 2025, Raye announced on her social media that she would be embarking on a concert tour in support of the album, set to begin in January 2026, with tickets going on presale on 23 September 2025. In October 2025, Raye performed a seven-minute set at the NFL London Games halftime show, where she sang "Where Is My Husband!" as part of her setlist.

In January 2026, Raye embarked on her concert tour entitled This Tour May Contain New Music, which is set to conclude in May of the same year. The tour will span 51 shows across Europe and North America. On 28 February 2026, Raye performed "Where Is My Husband!" at the 2026 BRIT Awards, as well as the live debut of "Nightingale Lane.". On 27 March 2026, Raye performed "Where Is My Husband!" at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards ceremony.

Singles and videos

German film composer Hans Zimmer (pictured) co-produced "Click Clack Symphony" and is credited as a featured artist on the track.

On 19 September 2025, Raye released "Where Is My Husband!" as the lead single from This Music May Contain Hope, alongside its music video directed by The Reids. The song reached number one on the UK singles chart in January 2026, becoming Raye's second number one single in the country. Elsewhere, it reached number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number six on the Billboard Global 200. The song was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2026 BRIT Awards, while the music video won the award for Video of the Year at the MOBO Awards 2026. On 14 November 2025, a remix of "Where Is My Husband!" by French DJ David Guetta and Italian producer Hypaton was released to streaming services.

On 27 February 2026 the album's second single, "Nightingale Lane.", was released. A video of a live performance with The Flames Collective and the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London, England accompanied the release. The song was issued on 7-inch vinyl as a double B-side featuring the live performance at Abbey Road. "Nightingale Lane." reached number 20 on the UK singles chart.

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. It debuted at number 18 on the UK singles chart, and at number 102 on the Billboard Global 200.

Critical reception

This Music May Contain Hope

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. It became the highest rated album of 2026 on the service. The review aggregator Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average score of 8.5 out of 10 from twelve critic scores.

Writing for Clash, Andy Hill described Raye's "ambition" on This Music May Contain Hope as "staggering", where she exhibits "fourth-wall-breaking familiarity". Hill described the track "Click Clack Symphony." as a "Beyoncé-level anthem", and praised "Goodbye Henry." for making Al Green "feel like your mate". Ben Tipple of DIY described the album as a "stunning showcase of her ever-growing confidence", where Raye "traverses love, heartbreak, life, death, resilience, despondency, euphoria and the comedown, infidelity, and the powerful value of family". Tipple favourably compared "Click Clack Symphony." to Raye's 2022 track "Escapism.", describing it as carrying "post-euphoria darkness", while singling out "Life Boat." as being an "emotionally heavy rave banger" and "the biggest curveball on a record filled with them". Writing for The Independent, Helen Brown likened This Music May Contain Hope to an "epic Technicolor movie", which sees Raye "[lean] hard into the romance of vintage Hollywood melodrama while keeping a witty, modern head on her shoulders". Brown described Raye as being "relatable" and having a "matey warmth" on the album, mentioning the track "Click Clack Symphony." as being a "snappy feminist anthem" and "I Hate The Way I Look Today." as Raye "[fessing] up to her insecurities". Brown concluded that the album is a "pure audio spectacle that will have you screaming for an encore".

Puah Ziwei of NME described This Music May Contain Hope as being "a lot to take in" but that "the brilliance that comes from Raye's unrestrained, all-in approach is worth the journey". Ziwei likened the album to an "extravagant theatre performance", and praised Raye's vocals, describing them as "never [sounding] so good", and her songwriting such as on the "standout" track "I Hate The Way I Look Today." and the "heartbreaking details" of "Nightingale Lane.". Ziwei concluded that the album is "showstopping musical maximalism at its grandest", while still "being grounded in relatable experiences and unbridled emotions". Writing for Rolling Stone UK, Nick Levine described This Music May Contain Hope as being a "bold and life-affirming listen" which sees Raye "overcoming self-doubt, heartbreak and hollow Romeos". Levine singled out the track "Joy." for praise, describing it as "euphoric disco" that is "every bit as infectious as her recent chart-topper 'Where Is My Husband!'". Levine concluded that the album is "an exciting, life-affirming listen that reminds you it’s never too late to turn things around".

Writing for Slant, Steve Erickson described the album as "[reaffirming] Raye’s refusal to be pigeonholed into any one genre", where she "admires the music of the past, though, her songs are very much rooted in the present". Referring to the tracks "Joy." and "Life Boat.", he described Raye as "refreshingly unconcerned with sounding corny", while concluding that "maximalism proves to be an effective cure for the loneliness epidemic" on This Music May Contain Hope. In a more mixed review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the album as "occasionally [feeling like] a bit much" as it "wobbles unsteadily along the line that separates unbridled self-expression from self-indulgence". Petridis critisised the "spoken word" elements on the album, such as on the tracks "Fields.", "Life Boat.", and "Fin.", describing them as "distinctly surplus to requirements", but clarified that the album "pays off more often than it fails". Petridis offered praise to the tracks "Nightingale Lane." and "Beware … the South London Loverboy.", noting that the former has "highlights [that] are pretty skyscraping", and the latter as "hugely exciting music that splits the difference between the Andrews Sisters and a finger-snapping mid-60s soul revue". Petridis concluded that "you simply don’t get many albums like this in the 21st century, because the climate of the 21st century has led artists to be risk-averse. That’s not a label you could pin on Raye".

Personnel

This Music May Contain Hope

Credits were adapted from Tidal.