Despite having the worst of memories, I rarely forget where I was, or what I was doing, when I first discovered a great artist.
Saya Gray’s 2024 EP, Qwerty II stopped me in my tracks one mid-August evening during a walk home from the grocery store. As is typical with the good stuff, the first sentiment was not a straightforward enjoyment; the central guitar riff of the album opener, YOU, A FOOL, was giving Guitar Hero / math rock and vaguely pissing me off. But the staticky vocals ringing like a fever dream through the chorus and the ghostly outro reminiscent of a Billie Eilish interlude culminated in an entirely unsettling, genre-bending listen. I checked my phone, saw the puzzling cover art and song titles, saw that the EP was under 30 minutes, and had no choice but to park myself in the grass for the remainder. (Grocery refrigeration be damned!).
That first song — which I really like — ended up being my least favourite on the EP. I recommend checking it out if you haven’t already. More on that later.
It’s a good day to write about Saya Gray since her forthcoming album, SAYA, is set to release in two weeks, February 21st. The album’s singles — 2 out of 3 which I have on repeat (SHELL (OF A MAN), LIE DOWN) — suggest it will be more approachable than Gray’s past projects, which have leaned abstract and experimental. The press notes for SAYA claim it to be the result of “sanding and fine-tuning the rough edges of records past into more cohesive works”.
Unlike the above singles, her earlier projects are largely unbound to a coherent genre, tone, or song structure (and they bang). Few songs in QWERTY II seem designed as standalone singles, aside from the cool, bouncy, AA BOUQUET FOR YOUR 180 FACE. Having shared the EP around with regrettably low uptake, aside from the more patient listeners, I welcome the notion of SAYA debuting a more fleshed out sound. SHELL (OF A MAN) is evidence that Gray’s distinctive style — a result of relentless experimentation — also flourishes in a more traditional song structure. Her inhabiting of a place comfortably outside, or ahead, of mainstream aesthetics will impose on even her catchiest tracks.
Keen an eye on Saya Gray. I’m not suggesting this is the path the artist will follow, but should her work continue to tread a balance between the more approachable recent singles and their experimental roots, I suspect we’ll have a star on our hands.
I look forward to the forthcoming album SAYA and Gray’s show on April 30th at Axis Club in Toronto (the artist’s hometown!). It’s always a treat to watch a local artist break through with a fresh, uncompromising sound.
Listening Notes, Qwerty II
I dove back in to QWERTY II in anticipation of SAYA, writing the notes below while it looped on my speakers. Maybe they’ll accompany those who want to give it a listen.
💉 In 2 2 BOOTLEG, the transition from rejection to tenderness feels like a cycle of being trapped in vice. The artist speaks of the “devil’s dance” with familiarity. I was thinking about the ways in which we self-regulate between torturing ourselves over our vices and knowing that a life without them is so dull. (I saw the beauty, I saw the God, in your suffering).
🫶🏼 DIPAD33 / W . I . D . F . U is my favourite song on the EP. Strings which at once feel lush and sparse and cinematic. 5 blissful minutes.
🪷 In EDIBLE THONG, I like the image of the artist consulting with a Blue Lotus plant, which resembles a sort of inner wisdom. The meditative dialogue gives way to a 20-second wrath against material fantasies, “tiny people in big houses” and “tin cars carrying silicone tits”, before returning to the plant’s blessing.
☯️ In MAVIS BEACON, the artist is (presumably) fronting on a lover with an Erykah Badu-esque nonchalance, before relenting in the second half. It seems she could only sustain the front for a couple minutes before returning to vulnerability, a recurring tension in the work.
🦗I can’t stop looking at the creature in the cover art (below right). To my eyes half-praying mantis, half-chrysanthemum. All I know is that the artist seems to have love troubles, and female praying mantids are known to cannibalize their mates.
Lovely piece! Saya’s quickly become my favorite musician. I had a similar experience with QWERTY II — took me a good week to fully digest and “get” what I was listening to. DIPAD33 / W.I.D.F.U is probably also my favorite track, the outro has me floating EVERY TIME. That said, MAVIS BEACON at times takes that spot. Oddly enough, the first track is also my least favorite, but I still love it, which says something about the strength of the record.
As an aside, I was at the Saya Gray listening party in NYC for her debut album and it certainly is a more accessible record, but she does a great job of weaving in some of that experimental DNA throughout, so those of us who fw the weird sonics still have something to eat on. It’s a sad world if this record doesn’t broaden the conversation around her work.