| Positive Spin | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Gretta Ray |
| Cover: | Positive Spin.jpg |
| Released: | 18 August 2023 |
| Length: | 44:28 |
| Prev Title: | Begin To Look Around |
| Prev Year: | 2021 |
Positive Spin is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Gretta Ray, released on 18 August 2023 through EMI Music Australia.
On 24 May 2023, Ray hosted a fan event using her official Discord server in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The activity was a scavenger hunt that guided fans to letters that spelt out the album's name.[1] The album was officially announced a day later, along with a tour titled The Big Pop Show.[2]
The album was nominated for the 2023 Australian Music Prize.[3] At the 2023 J Awards, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.[4]
A deluxe version of the album, titled Positive Spin +, was released on 15 March 2024. It includes reworked versions of the songs "Upgraded" and "Heartbreak Baby", as well as the tracks "Roses" and "Better", a collaboration with Japanese Wallpaper.[5]
Positive Spin was preceded by four singles; The first was "Dear Seventeen" on 3 May 2023, a letter to her younger self in the beginning of her career, warning her of the perils and joys she's yet to experience. The album's second single, "Heartbreak Baby", which triple j described as "a bubbly pop song that's as full of heart as it is heartbreak", was released on 25 May 2023 alongside its music video."America Forever", which features vocals from Maisie Peters and Carol Ades, was released as a single on 4 July 2023, and the album's final single, "Don't Date The Teenager", was released on 3 August 2023.[6]
"Roses" was released as a single alongside the deluxe version on 13 March 2024. In a press statement, Ray described the song as "warm and optimistic", saying that it "always belonged on a version of Positive Spin".[7]
Lauren deHollogne from Clash rated the album 8 out of 10 and said that "Positive Spin is melancholic and heartbreaking at times, but its bubbly nature is always there to pick the listener right back up."[8]
Antigoni Pitta from The Line of Best Fit rated the album 6 out of 10 and called the album "a handbook for embracing change in your early 20s", saying that Ray "makes a case for optimism as she joins the ranks of pop artists singing about the trials and tribulations of young womanhood."[9]
Rolling Stone Australia noted the influence of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and placed the album at Number 12 on their list of the best Australian albums of 2023.[10]
| Peak position | ||
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 17 |
|---|
| Various | 18 August 2023 | EMI Music Australia | Standard | [12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | [13] [14] | ||||
| Various | 15 March 2024 | Positive Spin + (Deluxe) | |||