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- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Feb 14, 2023This is far from a “safe” debut – her authenticity, vulnerability and innate ability to scribe the gory innards of her consciousness on to paper are entirely unique and intimately personal. It is not always the easiest listen and that is precisely the point.
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Feb 13, 2023here’s a touch of pastiche on the doo wop of Thrill Is Gone, but overall the record showcases a self-assured songwriter, capable of producing swaggering floor-fillers. My 21st Century Blues is Keen’s artistic rebirth. Long may it continue.
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Feb 10, 2023None of these uninhibited songs could have been half as convincing voiced by another singer. That said, it's evident that she's using her platform to speak for others who have lived through anything remotely similar.
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Feb 8, 2023While it showcases the breadth and the peaks of her capabilities, My 21st Century Blues lacks a clear thematic throughline.
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Feb 6, 2023When RAYE is self-consciously rebelling against the mainstream it results in some of My 21st Century Blues’ worst music, whereas on the best tracks we hear an artist who fully deserves this victory lap and more.
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Feb 3, 2023Like FKA Twigs’s Caprisongs, Beyoncé's Renaissance, and SZA’s SOS, Raye’s My 21st Century Blues deserves to be listened to from start to finish, then again, and again.
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Feb 2, 2023A very brave, strong record. Hats off, Raye. These blues are smoking hot.
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Feb 2, 2023My 21st Century Blues roars into life, hitting you with one fantastic song after another.
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Feb 2, 2023The album has excellent high points – tracks that showcase what brought RAYE to the forefront in the first place.
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Feb 2, 2023In her haste to tell her story, ‘My 21stCentury Blues’ suffers from a frenzied second half that cushions the gut-punch it could have been.
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Feb 2, 2023With the emotionally charged beats of ‘Black Mascara’, the candour of ‘Body Dysmorphia’ and the unfiltered soul of ‘Buss It Down’, it would be impossible for anyone to sleep on RAYE anymore.
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Feb 2, 2023The hard-fought ‘My 21st Century Blues’ is unequivocally RAYE from start to finish.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 106 out of 114
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Mixed: 3 out of 114
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Negative: 5 out of 114
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Feb 3, 2023I haven't heard such a wonderful album in a long time and I'm so grateful to have been introduced to the incredible artist that is RAYE.
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Feb 3, 2023So proud of her and everything she did for this debut album to be this perfect. She’s humble, talented and hard working. You’ll go far girl
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Feb 7, 2023This is so good.
All the tracks tells a story, her story
My fav of the album is flip a switch