“Rina Sawayama is something of a genre mixologist. Over the course of her second record ‘Hold The Girl,’ we’re witness to trance, British indie, ‘90s alt-rock, ‘00s Avril Lavigne-style soft-rock and beyond, with these wide-spanning sonics shot through with her razor-sharp musical vision. It’s a sound reflective of the way that we’re able to consume music in 2022. With streaming making it easier to ”
“It seems inevitable that we might try teasing out autobiographical details from a Rina Sawayama record. The artist has continually fashioned narratives about familial strife, sexuality, race and identity into some of the best music categorised under the hyperpop banner, garnering collaborations with artists as diverse as Charli XCX and Elton John – but the run-up to the release of her second album”
“We live in dizzying times, in which cognitive dissonance seems like a default state. When Rina Sawayama’s debut album, Sawayama, landed in April 2020, it not only chimed with the mood of the day, it coincided with the intensity of lockdown. Sawayama was a head-spinning record that itself turned a fair few heads. Its big emotions and post-ironic sonics called to disrupted lives everywhere. It was o”
“Hold The Girl sharpens Rina Sawayama's sound while leaving room for experimentation”
“A grand attempt to capitalize on her recent brushes with the mainstream, Hold the Girl gives Sayawama’s fans space to process their own traumas and unravel toxic narratives”
“Seeking empathy for a younger self, Rina Sawayama’s second album pirouettes through pop-punk and power ballads, trance and stadium rock. It’s ambitious in the same way as putting on all the clothes in your closet.”
