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Jul 08, 2020 By Samantha Small Photography by James Loveday (for Under the Radar) Girl Ray

Surrounded by her own self-portraits (made by her bandmate), Ariana Grande records, and a proud Freddie Mercury, Girl Ray singer Poppy Hankin let Under the Radar inside her North London home, which just so happens to be where almost all the songs of the indie-pop trio’s discography were written. Longtime Under the Radar photographer James Loveday directed and shot the At Home With Girl Ray short documentary, which was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic put London and much of the world under lockdown.

Comprised of Poppy Hankin (guitar/vocals), Iris McConnell (drums), and Sophie Moss (bass), Girl Ray believe they wouldn’t have been a band if they didn’t live close together. Hankin’s home (better known as the Girl Ray studio) is where they all flock to. It holds quite a bit of Girl Ray history, and even more merch.

After starting to play together in high school, Girl Ray signed a record deal and released their debut album, 2018’s Earl Grey, shortly after graduating. It’s a lo-fi, breezy, Raincoats influenced album with off-kiltered harmonies and choppy guitar to provide a soundtrack to the purity, but borderline hilarity of young love.

But soon came a shift. Gradually moving on up the “big leagues,” Girl Ray tried their hand at a more pop-inspired sound on 2019’s Girl. Recorded at Electric Beach Studios in Margate with Ash Workman (Christine and the Queens, Metronomy), Hankin wanted to channel her inner Grande, that small piece of Rihanna, and traded in the raw guitar sound for sunny synths and twinkling keys. The harmonies are tighter, the guitars are crisper, and love is more retrospective. Girl shows a truly dynamic growth in the trio that no one could’ve predicted, but that everyone fell in love with.

Watch the full mini-documentary directed by James Loveday to see where the magic of Girl Ray happens.

Read our My Firsts interview with Girl Ray.

Read our 2017 interview with the band.

Read our review of Earl Grey.

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