Originally Published on August 12th, 2025
About the Artist
My wife thinks it is strange that, when I hear a song for the first time, I tend to focus more on the melody, instruments, and musical aspects of the song. I generally struggle to focus on the lyrics. If there is something about the music that hooks me, I won’t hear the lyrics at all. I’ve mentioned before that I have made it my mission to try to pay extra close attention to the lyrical content of the music I’ve been reviewing.
After finding Emily Gray on TikTok , I found my perseverance being rewarded. There is so much in the music that sweeps me away. Dynamic guitar performance, excellent quality vocals; melody and harmony. Unique percussions, giving a truly organic listening experience. Truly magnificent music. However, Gray is just as talented of a lyricist as she is a performer.
Emily Gray debuted in 2021, when she released her debut single, Geoffrey and Edith, a melancholic acoustic ballad. A raw and deep performance, Gray exhibited an immediate talent for storytelling.
In 2023, Gray released her first multi-song project, Apocalypse. At 9 minutes, the 5-song project has a mixture of vocal and spoken word poetry performance. It has a similar energy to that of Ren and his sensational hits like Hi Ren and Violet’s Tale. In Apocalypse, Gray, showcases her wonderful guitar playing capabilities. This paired with her particularly powerful vocal performance puts the spotlight directly where it’s supposed to be.
For the remainder of 2023 and through 2024, Gray released a number of singles and appeared on a few collaborative projects as well. Continuing to grow and evolve into the perfect blend of indie folk, pop, and alternative rock, she shines on tracks like Killing Time, A Stranger to the Sky, and the magnificent collaboration with Eleanor Collides, The Unbearable Weight of What If.
Emily Gray is a British independent artist currently residing in Spain. In addition to Ren, Gray’s sound is reminiscent of artists like Cyndi Lauper, Alanis Morissette, and Ani DiFranco. In late 2024, she began releasing singles for an upcoming album.
About the Album
Kaleidoscope is the debut album by British independent artist, Emily Gray. At just under 40 minutes, this 10-song album, is a indie folk, alternative master class in the diversification of musical performance and storytelling. Kaleidoscope features singles released by Gray, including Paper Wings, The Curse of Eternal Contentment, and Freefall. Kaleidoscope was independently released on July 4th, 2025.
About the Music
I believe the old adage goes like this: there are two sides to every story. For thirty years, Radiohead’s most famous and successful hit, Creep has resonated so completely, that the other side of that coin hadn’t been observed.
Perhaps this is the secret to Emily Gray’s writing; her cleverness. Where we all neglected to consider, Gray thought about the person being addressed in Creep and she wrote the response through the lead song, Paper Wings.
In Paper Wings, Gray keeps the melancholic tone performed in her indie folk style. Line by line, she addresses each one of the grievances of the once narrator, now object of our new narrator. I particularly love the reference to the title of the track, “The sad truth, dear, is I’ve never been an angel. You just stapled paper wings onto my back.”
In The Curse of Eternal Contentment, Gray channels a comparable melody to Sweet Child o’ Mine, as she bursts through this brilliant folk performance. She takes the music a step further with a beautifully-crafted bridge and powerful vocal harmonies.
One of my favorite songs on the album is Hiding a Secret. As the song begins, it is very stripped down and the listener is likely expecting a ballad focused on Gray’s vocal performance. As we transition to the chorus, Hiding a Secret picks up; adding percussion and putting every bit into the consistent tempo.
Final Thoughts
Emily Gray has defied science. Most singers sing from their lungs and their diaphragm. I’m convinced Gray’s voice comes straight from her heart. There is so much passion behind every single note. If that weren’t enough, she is a very capable guitar player with a knack for originality with progression and cadence.
I can’t just mention how good she is musically. Almost as prolific as her compositions, are her lyrics. Each song seems to be more in depth than the last as Gray challenges her audience to understand different perspectives. From her EP, Apocalypse, where she experimented with spoken word poetry, to Kaleidoscope, Gray has immersed her music with thoughtfulness, cleverness, and lyrical depth.
Emily Gray has emerged within the folk uprising of the 21st century, as different genres, as well as mainstream and indie artists find themselves experimenting and scaling back from the digital era of music. In order to do folk well, one has to be a thoughtful lyricist and the instrumental support has to be strong. Gray doesn’t just simply accomplish these elements, she is damn near unique. Ever since stumbling onto her TikTok profile and hearing her perform Paper Wings, I can’t help but notice that she has been finding original ways to create throughout her entire catalog. She is tapped into the beauty of simplicity that eludes the rest of us.
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