Saya Gray – SAYA
SAYA wasn’t the album I was expecting from Saya Gray. Given the direction of her QWERTY EPs, it seemed like she was diving deeper into the fragmented songwriting approach of 19 Masters—instead, she took a different route. Sonically, SAYA still plays in the same blurry space between r&b, pop, electronic, and folk, but where her past work felt like a chaotic patchwork of ideas, this album has a clear throughline. The genre-hopping, effortless melodies, eccentric vocal yips—it’s all still there, but every twist and turn feels deliberate.
Tracks like “PUDDLE (OF ME)” and “H.B.W.” showcase her ability to turn eccentric vocal patterns and unconventional structures into something that fits seamlessly within more traditional frameworks, while lead single “SHELL (OF A MAN)” offers a calmer, more streamlined indie/pop sound without compromising the emotional depth of her songwriting. There are only 9 proper songs on this album, but they all work to form a cohesive sound that balances the quirky with the accessible. And sure, one could make the argument that in so doing, Gray loses a bit of the unbridled creativity that her previous stream-of-consciousness approach to songwriting afforded, but it’s hard not to be impressed by her ability to channel all her creative chaos into something so deliberate and guided. In hindsight, SAYA seems like the logical evolution of Gray’s sound; it takes fewer risks than its predecessors, sure, but as a result, it refines her vision into something more focused and palatable.
-Gyromania
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coma u suck
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jk good write-up