Rachel Haymer's new album, Island Girl Reflections II, is out now: nine original songs that continue the story she began with 2021's Island Girl Reflections. The first album was about finding the courage to leave Honolulu for New York City. This one looks at what comes after, and finds she never had to choose. Hawaii and New York both live in these songs.

Songs rooted in real life

On "Solo Rollo Soho," Rachel's phone dies in the middle of Manhattan. Instead of panicking, she finds her way by instinct, a small city mishap that becomes a song about trusting yourself. "Summer Coney Island" is about the freedom of letting go of control. "New Daylight" is about choosing hope and faith when life isn't cooperating.

The album also goes deeper. "The Adventure Has Just Begun" looks back on her years in Germany and a love that ended in loss. "'Till the Morning Come" is about intimacy and vulnerability. "Love Song to the Disconnected Child" grew out of Rachel's work in the disability and inclusion community, written for every child who has felt unseen or left outside the circle.

"Rather Have You," co-written with Rory Michelle Sullivan, features Hawaiian steel guitar, an idea championed by the late Uncle Joe Espinda. He was a Hawaiian elder and reggae keyboardist who encouraged Rachel's music, and he heard the finished album before he passed.

The sound

Rachel draws on the storytelling of Joni Mitchell and Carole King, the melodies of Rachmaninoff, and the reggae grooves of artists like Fiji and J Boog. Her classical training and her study of Hawaiian ukulele shape the harmonies throughout. Weekly improvisation sessions with her band, ManaTones, pushed her songwriting in new directions. The ukulele here is a serious songwriting voice, not a novelty.

What the press is saying

One West Magazine called the album "warm, curious, hopeful, occasionally heartbreaking, and full of personality." RockDaFuqOut called it "an intelligent and deeply humane record about the geography of belonging."

About Rachel

For more than two decades, Rachel has performed in concert halls, at international festivals, in houses of worship and memory care communities, and on New York City subway platforms. As the performer behind The Ukulele Time Machine, she has led singalongs for commuters at Grand Central, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center.

Listen now

Stream Island Girl Reflections II on Spotify and Apple Music, and watch the official video for "Remember Summer Time" on the Media page.