Gemma Ray – ‘Island Fire’

A mixed bag

The chances are slim, but we’d give anything to see Essex girl Gemma Ray slink her way onto the next series of TOWIE and wield her beloved Harmony Rocket and crisp, sideways blues in the cast’s questionably tanned faces. ‘Island Fire’ is Ray’s fourth album, and sees her sweep from Joe Meek territory (‘Rescue Me’) and deliciously creeping malevolence (‘Flood And A Fire’) to a simmering mariachi skronk (‘Trou De Loup’). She’s far less successful when she goes into full-on retro pop mode, as on the incredibly cloying ‘Put Your Brain In Gear’ and ‘Runaway’, but when she decides to plump for the darker end of the spectrum, she shines.

Leonie Cooper

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