Brand new album from GRAE

Since first making an impression with her 2019 debut EP New Girl, Canadian artist GRAE has been going from strength to strength in the indie pop scene with a sound that blends dreamy nostalgia and alternative aesthetic. Her music, often washed in the soft glow of 80s new wave influences and led by her magnetic vocals, has connected with audiences around the globe.

Now, after notching up over 100 million streams, making it onto the radar of tastemakers like Billboard and Complex and soundtracking hit shows like The Bold Type and Sex/Life, GRAE returns with her most audacious and ambitious release yet, her brand new full-length record titled 7 Minutes ‘Til Heaven. If 2022’s Whiplash established her as one of alternative pop’s rising voices, 7 Minutes ‘Til Heaven sees GRAE breaking every mould she’s outgrown.

It’s a cinematic, uncompromising self-portrait; messy, electrified and truly human. Penned during a turbulent period in her life and produced through sleepless nights in Toronto, the record is a fearless exploration of identity, power and transformation. Throughout, GRAE invites listeners into a world shaped by feminine rage, late-night epiphanies and the tension between vulnerability and defiance.

The album opens with “American Dream,” an arresting spoken-word piece delivered by Apollonia, best known as Prince’s iconic collaborator and the frontwoman of Apollonia 6. Her hypnotic voice snakes through the album like a guiding spirit, punctuating the emotional arc with poetic interludes that enhance the immersive experience. It’s a bold move, but one that aligns perfectly with GRAE’s vision to create art that’s not just heard, but felt.

On “Dark Energy,” GRAE leans into moody, bass-heavy textures to craft a nocturnal anthem of quiet chaos. “Motorcade” takes historical tragedy and reframes it through modern lens, Jackie Kennedy’s poise reimagined as a symbol of silent strength and grief. “Cha-Ching” is a Vegas-born track that juxtaposes glittering allure with the undercurrent of disillusionment, pulling the rug out from under the glamour, delivered by an enveloping electronic pop outing of immersive synth textures, snapping beats and GRAE’s engrossing vocals.

Tracks like “Fantasy” and “Scarlet” expose the fragile seams between perception and reality. The former distils the conflict between who we are and how we’re seen, while the latter, drawing on a close friend’s betrayal, speaks to GRAE’s gift for translating shared pain into something hauntingly personal. The final interlude, “Pleasure Breeds Fame,” delivered again by Apollonia, elegantly ties together the record’s emotional threads before closing with “Hollywood,” a fragile meditation on fame’s aftermath, finishing the album with an elegant, ballad-style outing.

With 7 Minutes ‘Til Heaven, GRAE sets the blueprint for what alternative pop can become when experimentation, poetic storytelling and emotional weight collide. At once rebellious and intimate, this album confirms her place not only as an artist to watch, but as one who’s already forging an astonishing musical legacy.

Listen to 7 Minutes ‘Til Heaven below