Gretta Ray - 'America Forever'
Gretta Ray lassoes up co-writer Carol Ades and No. 1 album queen Maisie Peters for her latest single, an ode to the States called ‘America Forever’.
The soft, dreamy, four-minute track is a throwback to the Australian singer-songwriter’s past, with the quiet and poised delivery that she delivered on early EPs ‘Elsewhere’ and ‘Here and Now’.
But it also throws forward, the third taste from sophomore album ‘Positive Spin’, out next month. ‘America Forever’ closes the new record, and sits sonically between the first release, the more reflective ‘Dear Seventeen’, and the big pop banger that is ‘Heartbreak Baby’.
The 25-year-old has again nailed the mix of playful humour and tenderness that makes her stand alone. ‘America Forever’ is yearning, but filled with Gretta’s trademark creative lyricism. My favourite couplet is “Swear here I’m headed on the right track/ I’ll throw a tantrum on the tarmac”.
Gretta wrote the song at the end of a songwriting trip to the USA with collaborator Carol Ades, who Ray described as “music, personified”. The resulting track is a love letter to a country where she has written several songs in Nashville, and toured with good friends Gang of Youths. It names Pasadena, CA, but encapsulates the whole nation in a hazy and sparkly track – fittingly unleashed on the fourth of July.
When pal Maisie Peters heard the demo, she offered her backing vocal services immediately, elevating the beautiful harmonies one step further. It continues their collaborative efforts, in the wake of Gretta’s vocals on Maisie’s 2021 album track ‘Volcano’.
The ‘America Forever’ video fits the track snugly, fusing home video style footage with a nostalgic, golden feel, showing Gretta in a fittingly coloured diner, and dancing next to Santa Monica Pier.
It all fuels expectations for ‘Positive Spin’. Could it match, or even eclipse, first album ‘Begin To Look Around’? If these new songs are anything to go by, maybe.
In ‘America Forever’, she sings “could find me hiding in a trader Joe’s”. There’ll be little chance to hide in future though; this era should send the singer supernova. Gretta Ray forever.
Words by Samuel Draper
