Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY XAVIER JOHNSON
What is it like after the lights come back on and the party is over? How does it feel to come home at 2:00 a.m. and catch yourself in the mirror?
These questions are central to modern pop’s current movement. Today’s pop stars are in direct conversation with post-2008 recession pop, an era of music defined by a live-like-there’s-no-tomorrow attitude born out of global economic anxieties. Now, a wave of (mostly) female artists who came of age on that music are bringing a reflective approach to the genre. The songs are still about partying, but they explore the comedown. From Charli XCX to Tinashe, pop’s biggest names are writing about what happens after the night ends in what is sometimes called “confessional pop.”
Rachel Chinouriri fits squarely into this movement. The English pop artist broke through with her 2024 debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, a musically diverse record that highlighted her diaristic lyrics alongside a mix of bouncy, rhythmic British pop and indie rock.
She now finds herself at a pivotal moment. Since her debut, she has supported Sabrina Carpenter on tour, earned co-signs from contemporaries like Gracie Abrams and Olivia Rodrigo, and earned two BRIT Award nominations. She is an artist on the rise, and a standout sophomore record could cement her standing.
Her second album, I Think I Spoke Too Soon, is a focused, atmospheric, and confessionally dense body of work framed around the arc of a night out. Where her debut danced between British pop and rock, this record leans much further into synth-pop.
Chinouriri’s lyricism shines in her reflections on the comedown, evoking a dark emotional space that feels more depressing than many of her contemporaries. She isn’t glowing in her #BRAT era; instead, she is contending with the consequences of constantly chasing an emotional high.
The opener, “One Song Away from Crying,” sets this theme in motion. Driven by a propulsive beat and layered synths, Chinouriri sings from the crossroads of her night out, knowing she should go home before the weight of her world crashes onto the dance floor. Her breathy delivery pairs well with the track’s tense tone.
She expands on this theme in “Broken Chair,” built around an earworm synth melody and sparse percussion. Spotting a discarded chair on the street after a long night, she directs insecure judgements upon it. “You look sad, so sad / But not me,” she claims unconvincingly.
Throughout the record, Chinouriri wrestles with using hedonism to fill an empty void, while examining what caused that void in the first place. One of the themes is a yearning for genuine love. This desire fuels tracks like “Make Believe” and “Parasite,” where punchy rhythms contrast with heartbroken lyrics. She does a wonderful job of being so vulnerable to the point of coming off a little pathetic. Truly intimate thoughts aren’t always going to frame an individual in a glorious light, after all.
Yet, the album isn’t entirely somber. Most tracks remain quite danceable. Chinouriri taps into her British indie rock roots most explicitly on “I’m a Star” and “AAAHHH!!!” The former is a bass guitar-driven anthem that serves as a fleeting burst of self-confidence before the inevitable crash, while the latter is a full-throated rock tune with wailing synths, chunky guitars, and powerful vocals. Both evoke the highest points of her debut.
I Think I Spoke Too Soon rises to the occasion as a confident and lyrically rich record, highlighting Chinouriri’s strengths as a pop artist. However, it simply isn’t as exciting as her 2024 debut. Where What a Devastating Turn of Events threw a diverse, unpredictable slate of sounds at the listener, I Think I Spoke Too Soon narrows its focus on synth pop, but loses the former’s dynamism.
The thematic territory of “party-girl confessional pop” is well-trodden in 2026. Chinouriri has effectively set herself apart through her diverse musical influences and a willingness to push her lyrics into darker, more vulnerable places. Yet, regardless of her emotional honesty, it remains difficult to entirely distinguish the music from the overarching trend she now fits so neatly into.
Whereas her 2024 debut felt like a bold declaration that she had arrived, her sophomore effort feels like an artist settling into her place within the current pop scene.
