Toronto’s GRAE and her impeccable DIY pop can be described by the same distinctions you would give a fine scotch: surprisingly smoky, admirably smooth, and aged just right. She often sings of navigating complex relationships—with herself included—with an unmatched air of mature refinement. As if simply by willing to ask what she does not know, she is able to put on the years not yet given to her. In her latest effort, “Ex Lovers”, however, she chooses to drop the pretence and cut right to the chase in a shadowy pop number that feels right at home under her command.
As most quarantine-forced music videos nowadays, this one was shot entirely by GRAE at home, as an homage to the highly under appreciated video diary. Though it’s intimate and unfiltered, you’ll find little warmth in it. Instead, GRAE uses the cold, calculating strategy for getting over an ex—a newfound lover—as fodder for her equally cold and emotionless expressions. It doesn’t take long to realize, though, that her indifference isn’t merely a source for healing, it’s a source for power. Those honeyed vocals cut through the jagged guitar riffs like a knife through butter, careful to remain as the ones conducting, and not the ones playing. The frisky percussions and expanding bass breathe along with the track, content to play the supporting role in an anthem that is reserved entirely for her.
After first introducing us to her world with her debut EP in 2019, GRAE has been slowly unravelling, shedding layers of modest storytelling to reveal her bare, empowering honesty. A feat that will surely do well to embolden her forthcoming sophomore EP.
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