Saya Gray
SAYA
Release Date: Feb 21, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Record label: Dirty Hit
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Album Review: SAYA by Saya Gray
Excellent, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 4.1/5
Necessary mid-decade classic: the closest indie has come in years to a full resuscitation Canadian-Japanese songwriter Saya Gray has been a major event waiting to happen for several years, and with her second album SAYA her time has come - and what a time! Her revelation of a debut 19 MASTERS and off-the-wall QWERTY EPs saw her gleefully dismember the classic folksong, repurposing it to suit her R&B-adjacent delivery ft. endless and endlessly distinctive ehs, yips, and shrugging off conventional songwriting in favour of elliptical structures and unpredictable progressions. Her earlier work played up her unique approach to music and mercurial charm brilliantly, but it was so resistant to a firm centre of gravity that it virtually begged the question of what this might look like if she did push for one.
Opinion: Excellent
Having established herself via her trio of EPs - '19 MASTERS' (2022), 'QWERTY I' (2023), and 'QWERTY II' (2024) - Saya Gray's sound has showcased a stunning blend of vivid, vulnerable songwriting and genre-blending production. Now, with full-length 'SAYA', she draws a definitive line between her musical past and future. The album is deeply personal, reflecting Saya's transformative solo road trip across Japan following the end of a troubled relationship.
'SAYA'
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