Rating: NN
After penning hits (Eminem and Rihanna’s Love The Way You Lie) and singing hooks (Lupe Fiasco’s Words I Never Said) for other stars and then attempting her own Lilith Fair-esque solo career as Holly Brook, singer/songwriter Skylar Grey returns with a new name and reworked bid for crossover success.
If only the songs lived up to Grey’s chart-topping work for others. The high-profile guest spots (Eminem executive-produces the album and turns up on inane single C’mon Let Me Ride) are predictable, and there’s a surprisingly odd mismatch between Grey’s Fiona Apple-lite balladry and her lyrical attempts at edginess. Final Warning, with its pointed list of ways to off a wayward lover crooned over a pretty melody and a 90s-era beat, sounds more somnambulistic than sinister.
Given Grey’s connection to music’s biggest headline-makers, it’s ironic that her own output isn’t all that memorable.
Top track: Wear Me Out
