Hold The Girl by Rina Sawayama
Sawayama’s second studio album is a therapeutic pop record that reflects on isolation.
BY ROGAN ISBELL
Japanese pop artist Rina Sawayama caught a lot of people’s attention with her debut album, “Sawayama”; it was one of the most acclaimed of 2020. Now she’s back with her second album, “Hold the Girl”, which was released on Sept. 16.
“Hold the Girl” takes a more calm, acoustic approach than her energetic, more hyper pop-inspired debut that blended multiple genres. There are still some of those songs on here, but for the most part, it’s a bit more laid-back with several slow ballads.
Lyrically, the album touches upon the effects that the COVID-19 lockdown had on her, with a more subdued sound to match. One of my favorites was “Send My Love to John,” a song she wrote about a parent with a gay son who’s trying to be more understanding and apologizing for her discrimination; people don’t typically hear about topics like that in pop songs.
The album is a little uneven in its mix of slow and energetic songs, but songs like “Imagining,” “Frankenstein,” and “Hurricanes” are all closer to the anthem songs of her debut like “XS”; I can’t wait to sing and dance along to those songs at a concert.
While this isn’t quite as exciting or consistent as Sawayama, it’s another good addition to her catalog. I was fortunate enough to see her live at First Avenue in April; she’s an amazing performer and has all the potential to make a name for herself in the industry.