REVIEW: Ray Hawthorne - Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted
Pop punk is a cornerstone of modern music, whether it bridges the gap for so many people to get into heavier rock music or offers a nostalgic trip for those who have hung up the battle jackets and stepped away from the mosh pits. It’s a genre that is universally loved, with so many fantastic artists having paved the way for brilliant new acts to emerge. RAY HAWTHORNE is a firm front-runner on that list.
With his raspy vocals and screams that blast through the microphone, he is an artist who has built his catalogue on heartfelt lyrics, emotionally charged melodies and a unique outlook on himself and life. Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted is the third album in this ever-growing and immersive collection. Renowned for his work in NORTH KINGSLEY, the acclaimed project alongside Shavo Odadjian of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, RAY is finding his own sound, incorporating different aspects of the genre to mould and shape his own path.
The album opens with Overwhelmed, and the song starts with one of his defining traits: screaming. The angst and sheer intensity are belted out before the melody rolls in. It’s got a BLINK 182 feel to it, and it’s a vibe. The guitar riffs are incredibly moreish, while the sequences featuring his vocals and the electric guitar acting as backing vocals resonate with the melodies he has composed. A slowed-down, harmonious sequence brings the song to a controlled ending. It’s a fantastic opening track that sets the bar for a great pop punk song.
Sidelines is next, and this feels raw in the best way. The lyrics are by far the standout feature, taking nothing away from the musical aspect, but this is pop punk lyricism as it’s supposed to be. It’s bottled-up pain, anger, humour and love, all mixed together and beautifully spilled over a very drum-oriented song. The combination of the drums and his voice gives the track the energy it needs to catapult it into must-listen territory, if only for this song alone.
I Tried takes a more serious, introspective dive and offers a softer touch to RAY’s album. There’s a heavy country vibe to it, almost like a drunken anthem that serves as an outlet for the frustration people experience when navigating break-ups and the hardships of trying to move on from that pain. It’s a great reflection of those feelings and a solid track that ticks the pop punk hurt box. Wrong showcases how those raspy screams can be considered a solid addition to the metal genre. The song itself is steady, and nothing particularly stands out apart from those underlying screams. However, they elevate it from potential album filler to a track that makes listeners think, “What’s this?” before turning up the speakers.
“You’re a liar and a coward and no one can fucking stand you” is the opening line to the gem that is Hang Up. The voicemail recording sets this up as another personal journal entry on an impressive album. There’s a rock/rap style to this track that has helped catapult MGK to the heights he has reached, and RAY incorporates it exceptionally well. The use of a dial tone in the chorus is a very nice touch, and the track ends with the sound of a phone being hung up on the receiver. A very solid track and one of the album’s best.
Tough As Nails follows the genre and tone established by the previous track. Does it sound too similar? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not really. It’s a style of music that works and connects with people on a deeper level. There’s a harmony in his vocals that raises goosebumps and makes the hair stand on end. The song closes with a beautiful piano piece, providing a break in the album. It’s a pause before a switch-up in style.
Following on from the piano piece, the first duet arrives with Habits. Featuring Pouyan Afkary, a founding member of one of the most influential bands to emerge from the mid-2000s post-hardcore wave, SCARY KIDS SCARING KIDS, it’s a collaboration that draws from different corners of the heavier alternative spectrum and integrates them into the pop punk sound.
It’s a direction RAY didn’t necessarily need to take, and it isn’t the standout track that might be expected from such an influential collaborator. However, it adds another string to his bow and opens up a potential new path that he could comfortably explore. The song drifts away in a distorted haze, with the audio gradually fading out. It’s a very well-produced track.
Burn New Jersey Down taps into that complicated relationship with home, the kind where people never fully let go, even after leaving. Featuring surprise vocal input from long-time producer Pete Zen, it adds his stamp to something both artists clearly care deeply about. Head Spin arrives with what feels like a crowd-rallying anthem. It’s a very bass-heavy song, with lyrics written for the sole purpose of the crowd chanting them back to RAY. The vocals sound muffled and distorted, but this allows the bass guitar to take centre stage as the song builds its atmosphere. It’s only a short track, but it’s powerful.
When It Rains is the album’s pop punk sadcore moment. Every album has one; usually, it’s slowed down or delivered acoustically, but in typical HAWTHORNE fashion, it’s heavy, erratic and shouty, while still effortlessly capturing the intended energy and mood. The strain in every scream and every gasp of breath between the lines in the chorus is audible. It’s something unique that makes the song feel increasingly personal, as another door to his vulnerability is opened. The track eventually transcends into a softer ending. Sometimes I Wish You Were Home is another fine example of HAWTHORNE’s ability to fuse genres. He takes a country vibe through the lyrics and opening guitar chords, then mixes it with raspy vocals, a heavy crescendo of drums and turned-up amps. It’s one of the songs that truly feels capable of showcasing what this album is all about.
The penultimate track is Bummer. It’s a great pop punk song with that American Pie-style nostalgic melody. The bridge before the chorus gets the head nodding and toes tapping, but the chorus itself doesn’t quite excel. It’s a steady song, yet the chorus never really steps outside the rhythm or lifts the track to another level. It maintains the same sway throughout and fails to stand out. It’s an okay song, but there’s much better elsewhere on the album. Somewhere Else is the track that completes the album for all the right reasons. The slow vocals open the song, while the gentle guitar notes fall like droplets during the build-up before the drums barrage through. Throughout the album, the drums often take centre stage, but the production here allows them to mirror HAWTHORNE’s vocals. Neither drowns out the other, and neither feels forced. It’s a combination that brings together the highlights of the preceding tracks. The crowd chants return, making it a very good song to close an equally good album. The soft vocals and isolated guitar strums bleed out as the album comes to an end.
Ray Hawthorne Can’t Be Trusted is another album that paves the way for RAY HAWTHORNE's continued rise through the pop punk scene. Drawing influence from the genre’s greats while simultaneously carving out an individual sound is no small feat. It’s an example of what can happen when an artist follows the sound they believe they should be making. Ultimately, top-tier albums such as this are born from that conviction, and it’s exactly what pop punk thrives on.
Score: 9/10
Ray Hawthorne Can't Be Trusted will be released on 16th October 2026.
Words: David Waites
Photos: Evan Draper
Comments