Thoroughly blooded as a sideman to musical giants (Grey has performed alongside Gil-Scott Heron, Tyondai Braxton, Alarm Will Sound, Beth Orton, ACME, Colin Stetson, Sam Amidon and John Cale among others) Stay Up represents an artist emboldened by musical heritage and a songwriting voice refined, singular and mesmerising. The album is uniquely expressive, ranging from sweetly melodic passages reflecting the traditional cast of a singer-songwriter, to huge open plains of chord-washes and chorus, to dense, dark, acute dissonance, all composed and performed by a master of his instrument.Grey's guitar playing is sought after by so many luminaries and is the cornerstone here. Unshowy, unpretentious, but eloquent in his storytelling, Grey uses the instrument in the gentlest ways. Stay Up is the work of a highly skilled musician, a songwriter who has already crossed the void and returned with an intuitive, learned musicality, poetical and ease with a guitar.
