Charlotte Grayson – MUG (2022)
Embracing her natural talent as a musician, Charlotte Grayson was already performing in live venues at the age of 15. With her trusty ukulele, the UK-based artist would head out with a bunch of covers to astound audiences on the open mic circuit. This already is quite something – I mean, I know I’d be impressed if a 15-year-old was playing a System of the Down cover on the ukulele; however, since her debut release in 2018, she has been receiving attention from notable press. Her single ‘Maybe’ became BBC Tees Introducing’s ‘Track of the Week’ and her debut album Grow saw her feature on BBC Introducing, Right Chord Music, Narc Magazine, and NE Volume (to name a few). The latest addition to her discography is the single ‘MUG’.
The first release of 2022, Grayson adopts an upbeat, high-energy tone in the new song ‘MUG’. Considering her sweet, smooth vocals, I might call Grayson a mixture of Christina Perri, Taylor Swift and Hayley Williams, but that wouldn’t be fair. A youthful innocence exists in her dulcet tones, as well as the melodic arrangement, that adds a rawness to her sound – something that is completely Charlotte Grayson.
A modern-day pop song, ‘MUG’ is quite jovial and bubbly. The thing is, while it is happy and bouncy on the surface a deeper, darker and more angsty tone lies beneath. Agitation, vulnerability and frustration are expressed in the instrumentation and in Grayson’s beautiful voice. I suppose this is apt considering this light-hearted single has a more desperate message – a juxtaposition of gentle melodies and jagged lyricism.
Penned after watching, in despair, a friend being mugged on a night out, ‘MUG’ touches on human vulnerability and fragility in an intriguing way. Grayson explains that she picked up her ukulele after coming home and let all of her emotions out. I’m fortunate to not have experienced this situation, but I can imagine how confused I would be afterwards, and ‘MUG’ is just the song to calm the situation…as much as it can be calmed.
Recorded in collaboration with producer Mark Aubrey, ‘MUG’ grasps one’s emotions in a sincere but brutally honest and fierce way.
For more from Charlotte Grayson check out her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
