The sophomore album is the scariest one in a pop star's career. Expectations are high, curiosity about ‘what will they do next?’ is building and the pressure to live up to your debut can be demanding. That second album might be scary for some of the biggest artists in the world, but not for the cool and collected Rachel Chinouriri. She jokingly explained on UK radio how she went out for coffee with Olivia Rodrigo, discussing the release of her second album. Olivia had asked her how she was feeling about the upcoming release, to which Rachel responded that she would also be scared if she had the incredible rollout of a debut album like SOUR, with ‘drivers license’ on it. Personally, though, she wasn't feeling any pressure at all.
It's pretty clear that Rachel has remained down-to-earth and has perhaps even underestimated how much the world fell in love with her after the release of her debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events. Whether the lack of pressure has helped her or not, she has cooked up an incredible follow-up album with I think I spoke too soon. No wonder she's so chill about how people are going to receive this body of work. It's the perfect follow-up to our first meeting with the UK singer.
Her debut album explored her identity as a party girl, with incredible songwriting about addiction and self-reflection. These themes carry over into I think I spoke too soon, but with a fresh perspective. After years of working and being perceived by the public, Rachel began questioning whether the person she thought she was might have been an incomplete version of herself. This critical look at herself has resulted in some of her best songwriting yet, exploring themes such as sobriety, growing up and estranged family relationships.
As a songwriter, she isn't afraid of being an open book. On ‘Baby Steps’, the singer discusses her complicated family relationships and the difficulty of navigating estrangement from relatives. Sometimes, the expectation of a massive breakthrough to get back to ‘what once was’ is simply unrealistic. Instead, you slow down the pace and take baby steps to repair the relationship. But these attempts to make things better can feel like too little, too late. She sings, ‘I'm sick of taking baby steps!’ over a synth-pop production that feels glossy, calm and almost dreamy.
Recently, we had the opportunity to see the hitmaker live in concert. During the show, we had the honor of getting an exclusive first listen to ‘AAAHHH!!!’. We fell in love with the song right there and then and couldn't be happier to finally have it on streaming platforms. The song is unmistakably British in every way. The vocal delivery and sound scream UK pop. Hearing it instantly transports us back to the days when we'd listen to VV Brown non-stop. We can't help but wonder whether she was on the mood board for the creation of this song.
Our favorite moment on the album comes when we reach ‘Shiver’. Upon first listen, we didn't feel much when hearing it, as it seemed like a shy number amidst all the shimmering synths, danceable grooves and euphoric pop moments. Once we took the time to sit down with the song in a dark room and let it shine in its full glory, we were sold. The arrangement is built to take you on a journey. It starts off soft and almost cold, with Rachel sounding lonely as she sings over the music, almost as if she's afraid to be heard. As the song continues to build, we reach an overwhelming moment in the production where the instrumentation takes full control and bursts into an anxious explosion. In the best way possible.
The album as a whole does an incredible job of exploring whatever you have going on in your life while you keep dancing through these difficulties. From start to finish, it feels like Rachel takes us along on a night out. From the moment you enter the club and want to dance the night away with ‘Pretty Girls’, to the moment self-doubt takes over and you start reflecting on who you are, which she discusses with humor and theatricality on ‘I'm a Star’. The night gets so out of hand that you start comparing yourself to a discarded, broken chair you encounter while walking home. The chair becomes a metaphor for feeling damaged, abandoned and difficult to love, making ‘Broken Chair’ another highlight on the album.
Rachel moves beyond the indie-pop and alternative-rock sounds associated with her debut, embracing shimmering synths, danceable grooves and bigger pop production that take the listener into a more joyful, healthier phase of her life. She thinks big and bold, showing us why she didn't have a worry on her mind when releasing her sophomore album. An album this good? No worries needed!