Saya Gray took a guitar to Japan in autumn 2023 and wrote much of SAYA during the visit. Following the densely assembled 19 MASTERS and QWERTY releases, she returned to acoustic songwriting for a record shaped by a breakup. The full-length arrived in February 2025.
Apple Music’s notes connect her songwriting to the Beatles and Joni Mitchell, while identifying the intricate guitar opening of SHELL (OF A MAN). That combination is worth following: returning to the acoustic guitar does not require her to remove the complications from the song. A recognisable melody can still begin with an awkward entrance.
Audrey Pridham’s review for Carleton’s Charlatan follows the album through heartbreak, describing the changes within LINE BACK 22 and the pull between attachment and departure on SHELL. The conflict gives the record something more personal than a display of stylistic range. Leaving someone can remain difficult long after the sensible decision has been made.
Gray grew up around music, with a mother who ran a school and a father who played jazz trumpet. She entered Toronto bands as a teenager and toured with Daniel Caesar and Willow Smith before these solo releases. SAYA’s guitar writing follows years spent contributing to other artists’ performances.
H.B.W and LIE DOWN take the album towards its softer closing stretch. SHELL’s intricate entrance shows how her earlier approach continues within this more direct writing. The guitar can make a song easier to recognise without making the relationship inside it easier to leave. Her earlier taste for complication has found a specific emotional use.