Album Review – ‘Freya Ridings’

The younger version of ‘Florence and the Machine’ and she could be headlining festivals in years to come.

Freya Ridings performing at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood on the 31st March 2018, photo taken by Justin Higuchi

Freya Ridings hasn’t been in the music industry for long, but when her song ‘Lost without you’ featured on 2018 Love Island; she fully erupted. Three of her tracks featured on the series, in addition she became a recognised voice across all radios, gaining a Top 10 on the Official Singles Chart and then landed a platinum record with Lost Without You – all in one year.

But, we aren’t here to talk about her past and what we can expect from her in the future, instead it’s all about her new album ‘Freya Ridings’ – which is quite generic but original – however her vocals prove differently.

The album itself consists of 12 songs of longing, loss, anger and to the heartbroken. It’s a dramatic break-up record by the young 25-year-old Londoner whose voice replicates the vocals of ‘Florence and the Machine’ and ‘Adele’.

The likes of ‘Lost without you’ and ‘Castles’, really showed of her vocals and has already become a fans favourite. However, ‘You Mean the World to Me’, ‘Blackout’ and ‘Still Have You’ don’t reach the heights of the album and sounds too similar of the piano ballad. She might have strong vocals, but she took the safe route with this album.

On the other hand, beginning ‘Poison’ as the first song of the album show’s off her range and a new vibe from her. This is carried through the album; represented through ‘Ultraviolet’ and ‘Elephant’. But, the underdogs of her debut album must be ‘Holy Water’ and ‘Love is Fire’. These specific songs are much more upbeat but still carry the occurrence theme of longing and anger in a positive way.

The album overall, proves she is going to become an amazing singer who has the potential of headlining festivals. But this was a safe route for Freya Ridings and should have taken the risk.

Rating: 3.5 / 5