Gretta Ray - Begin To Look Around Album Review

Over the past couple of years Gretta Ray has been on a journey of self-discovery and artistic evolution. Where the Melbourne singer-songwriter has arrived in 2021 is a fully realised and confident sound that hears her embracing her emotions and wearing them on her sleeve. Her debut album ‘Begin To Look Around’ feels like the love child of Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ and Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Golden Hour’. It perfectly captures a candid reflection of what it is like to be deep in your feelings about a particular situation, but also being so mesmerised by how beautiful the rest of the world is at the same time. Each song feels like a reminder to the listener that it’s okay to feel the way you feel, that It’s okay to cry, and that it’s okay to be swept up in the moment. 

From the cinematic instrumental opening of ‘Becoming’, you are immediately welcomed into a world of introspection with the big pop anthems of ‘Bigger Than Me’ and ‘Love Me Right’, singalong moments of ‘Worldly Wise’ and ‘Human’, and the intimate stories behind ‘The Brink’ and ‘It’s Nearly Christmas In Philly’. But the album’s standout moment is the comforting piano led ballad ‘The Cure’. With her singing “there’s growth in falling apart, there’s laughter in-between the dark” it perfectly captures the essence and heart of this record, and has you feeling not so alone. 

‘Begin To Look Around’ is a form of escapism in itself. Throughout the record she uses a lot of visual references that immediately transports you to the fresh air of Brunswick in Melbourne, to the streets of London, and the polarising romanticised emotions of Paris. But what she beautifully intertwines is a moment for you to really reflect on your own coming-of-age moments and see it in its own silver-screen adaptation in your head.

Buy Gretta Ray's CD Begin To Look Around Here Signed Copies available for a limited time!

Thomas Bleach wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Thomas here