Carsen Gray No Joke Review

Carsen Gray is a Vancouver based vocalist and songwriter from Haida Gwaii, BC. Gray is of indigenous Haida and mixed descent and is no stranger to a life of art, music and entertainment. Being the oldest daughter of Robert Gray, who played alongside Nick Gilder in the band Sweeney Todd and niece of Bobby Taylor, most noted for his discovery and mentoring of the King of Pop- Michael Jackson. Gray was a regional finalist in the CBC 2015 Searchlight contest, and since then works closely with independent heavy weight artist Joey Stylez. Together Stylez and Gray have been song writing, recording and touring across Canada. In June 2016 Carsen reached a national audience performing for the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) Aboriginal Day Live, performing “Supernatural,” which reached #1 on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown. In 2016, following the debut release of singles/videos of “Supernatural” and “Return Again” Gray released her single “Wanna See You,” this sexy and playful track featured Juno award winning Artist DJ Shub. Her singles/videos, “Supernatural” and “Wanna See You” reached number 1 on the NCI FM (Winnipeg MB) Indigenous Music Countdown. Gray released her debut self-titled album in 2017. In 2018 Gray and Red Rockerz released a track titled “Illuminate.” Gray is now releasing her latest single “No Joke.”

Review of the Single

“No Joke” highlights her soulful lyrics, appealing voice and bouncing electro pop sound. Starting with a whistling theme that could accompany an old Western gun fight movie scene, “No Joke” develops into a full fledge electro pop track. Gray’s voice is full as she sings the catchy melody. The production is not hi-fi, especially the drums. However, Gray’s singing is still impressive, and the song has interesting counterpoint between the lead vocals and background vocals. The repetitive guitar part could of developed, but it does support Gray. However, Gray still delivers a convincing performance with her singing.

In Conclusion

Gray has an interesting voice and her singing is full and conveys a sexy appeal that matches her imagery. “No Joke” has lyrics that are easy to relate to (see below for lyrics) and her message is believable in her singing. Gray’s electro Pop style with influences from Trap, Indigenous sounds and R&B/Soul is going in an interesting direction. However, the production of the music could be much stronger, and the tune could develop into something a little more dance oriented. Gray is one to watch for future sounds!

Lyrics

No Joke Lyrics:
Will you feed the wolf
The moon light pierces straight through the shadow
I bet you got no clue what’s in store for you
If sugar kills victory is so sweet
Ever step I can feel my heart beat like

There’s no where to run where to run where to run
There’s no where to run where to run where to run

This life’s no joke
We only get one chance one chance
So I throw on my boots and get to dancing
Destiny is singing my name
Under the night sky the stars kiss the moon
There’s a monster inside us all

Every child is born to the wild
No one will leave here Alive
As far as I look I see
Every days creeping up on me
An angel with horns shows love
A black feathered dove rise up
The black widow mends her heart
A wolf in sheep’s clothing tears it apart

No where to run where to run where to run
There’s no where to run where to run where to run
There’s no where to run where to run where to run
There’s no where to run where to run where to run

This life’s no joke
We only get one chance one chance
So I throw on my boots and get to dancing
Destiny is singing my name
Under the night sky the stars kiss the moon
There’s a monster inside us all

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