Easy categorization of a genre-flipping artist like GRAY is difficult.
By the time she appeared as a finalist in the 2014 Edge 102.1 (Toronto) Next Big Thing competition, she had already left the indie-pop of her 2013 REWIND debut ep at the door. Performing at 2015’s Edgefest – the only artist appearing without representation of any kind, alongside stylistic contemporaries like Mother Mother and Kongos - her newer, more synth heavy songs were emotional weapons. REWIND only hinted at the potential of an artist in possession of a Masters in Opera Performance. No sooner had readers nominated GRAY runner-up in Now Magazine’s 2015 Reader’s Choice Poll as Best New Act, than GRAY decamped to Los Angeles to write and gig. Toronto probably needed a break from so much swagger. GRAY had already made the rounds of showcase gigs at CMW, NXNE and Indie Week. When Edge on-air personality Adam Ricard intro’d GRAY with the declaration “Brody Dalle look out! There’s a young lady coming for coolest chick in rock’n’roll…” it was a legit warning. A song like ‘CRZY’ from the current batch of songs introduces itself like an overheard conversation before it suddenly becomes a dynamic, soaring, pop anthem. ‘LIGHTS’ is an inventive leap forward from there, establishing itself as the new standard, but left alone long enough with a guitar, a piano, her thoughts… GRAY is likely to eclipse her own benchmark by the time you finish reading this. 

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