Moody and breezy, Laura Gray takes a look back into the past with “For a While,” a song layered with richly textured brass instrumentation and airy melodies.
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Listen: “For a While” – Laura Gray
Not all journeys back into the past are painful ones, though that may certainly be so. For some, it’s done with the goal of finding new perspectives, seeing where one’s been and where they might end up. Looking at past decisions with a new lens can provide clarity and can allow for new growth. Laura Gray provides listeners with a vessel while she undertakes her journey on “For a While,” and it’s one that instills just as much as warmth as it does sadness, but ultimately leading to a hope of escaping who we once were.
Canada-based artist Laura Gray delicately teeters the line of melancholy and hypnotic, her style a lovely coalescence of the two that makes for a listening experience that will have one feeling weightless, floating above themselves as Gray’s dulcet incantations waft them forward. She started the year with her debut single “Break, Drift,” a song with a much livelier approach than “For a While” while still possessing the same flair. With “For a While,” a song that existed only as a live performance until now, Gray takes brass and synths to make an enrapturing tale of her own journeys.
You interrupt me constantly.
It’s a wonder that I ever get a word in.
When I finally get to speak,
I know you’re not really listening, anyway.
For a while I was just happy to be here
The song begins earnestly, immediately hitting listeners with synths and saxophone that are soon joined by Gray’s arresting vocals. The backing percussion and guitar melodies add another defined texture to the song that allows it to truly reach its hypnotic allure. The mellow presence is constant, a song that one will be hard-pressed not to shut their eyes and sway to. As she details her journey with the vivid imagery of her lyrics, moments of sorrow drift by, but they are never long-lasting. The song, despite the forlorn lyrics, cannot escape its comforting touch, ensuring it will always provide listeners with hope rather than misery.
Healing can be eventful.
Sober doesn’t have to be boring.
Distance can be insightful.
Quiet can be inspiring –
Just the same,
For a while I was just happy to be here
As “For a While” continues, Gray unveils more of her past; a window into herself that makes for a compelling detailing on one’s own experiences. When the last lyrics are sung, listeners are given a closing onrush on instrumentation. Brief but powerful, allowing for one last spotlight on a melody teeming with emotion and grace.
Thinking of myself at sixteen,
I wonder how she’d feel about you
and if she’d like me.
I wonder if she’d stick around
to see how all this might play out.
For a while I was just happy to be here
Laura Gray is a new face to the music scene, but she is already proving to be one to watch out for. “For a While” is the second single from her upcoming record Better Lighting, and if this latest song is anything to go off of, it’ll be a debut lauded for some time.
Listen: “For a While” – Laura Gray
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