Album Review: Rina Sawayama, Hold The Girl

Rina Sawayama has had quite the lockdown. She spent last year acting opposite Keanu Reeves in John Wick Chapter 4. Meanwhile, the Japanese-British singer also found time to record her second studio album – a record that draws on influences as far-flung as The Corrs and gone-and-largely-forgotten landfill indie champs, The Bravery.

Hold The Girl is a real coming out moment for Sawayama, a Cambridge graduate and former model. The title-track is an anguished ballad that tackles self-acceptance and spiritual growth (she has spoken about learning to “self parent” as she came to terms with her parents’ broken marriage).

She meanwhile pays respectful tribute to Dundalk’s finest on ‘Catch Me In The Air’ – a love letter to her mother (a huge Corrs fan). But then she veers in precisely the opposite direction on ‘Frankenstein’, which taps into her adolescence as a fan of indie bands such as The Bravery and Bloc Party whose drummer helps out on the track.

Hold The Girl is a testament to Sawayama’s versatility and, thanks to its punchy production, has the potential to broaden her audience beyond her fiercely loyal fanbase. This is a thrilling statement from Sawayama, an artist whose star is set to burn brighter and brighter.

8/10