Since exploding onto the national radar in 2010 as a co-writer for Eminem and Rihanna's chart destroyer "The Way You Lie," Skylar Grey has accumulated the kind of resume that puts her in elite music industry territory. GRAMMY appearances, collaborations with everyone from Nicki Minaj to Kid Cudi, Grey can lay claim to one of modern music's most undeniable discographies.
But for all of the fireworks she's helped set off, some of her most powerful work has come when she's simply sitting in front of a computer and giving her often haunting voice room to breathe.
Case in point, "Closer." A standout track from her new album, Natural Causes, "Closer" was inspired by the movie Southpaw and is sung from the perspective of a deceased mother comforting her loved ones from an ethereal place.
Knowing that context gives another layer to the song's meaning, but I would also highly recommend simply closing your eyes and listening:
“I take all of my favorite bits and make my own little cluster-fuck of sound. That’s what my album is. I feel like I’ve finally put together a sound that captures the essence of me. It’s almost like a debut.”
This is a song that sounds like watching your childhood home slowly disappear in a rearview mirror, like the first steady breath after a long cry, like lost hope found. This is a song that sounds like Skylar Grey.
Natural Causes is available now, and check out Grey's "Closer" bundle on BitTorrent Now for a free stream and download.