Song Review - Bree Gregory - “Waiting”
Review By: Sasha Bee
Photo Electric GIRL
I wish I could sit here and tell you I first heard Bree Gregory back in June 2022 when she released her track Only You. But, I didn’t, and it’s a damn shame I’m only now getting the opportunity to, because these lungs of hers hit you everywhere you can feel, and even in places you didn’t think you could feel.
Gregory hails from Adelaide, South Australia, and to describe her music as soul/R&B would be accurate, but not enough. It would be fair to say if you’re a fan of Erykah Badu, Chaka Khan, Black Pumas, Curtis Harding, Lianne La Havas, and Leon Bridges that you’ll not only enjoy Gregory’s sound but feel it fully immerse you.
The song was clearly inspired by ‘old soul’ sounds, but there’s a very 2023 twist.
Hearing her new song Waiting for the first time, I accidentally set the most perfect scene. Walking up the stairs at Sydney’s Town Hall station to a bustling George St during peak hour, that’s when the first piano key beamed down, causing an instant spring in my step. Within seconds, her soaring, yet soft, vocal intensity kicks straight in and with hundreds of people each living their own main character life passing by me without so much as a glance, Waiting made me feel like I was the main character in a movie.
The song draws you in from the start, it grabs you like a big cuddle from your doona after a long day. It leaves you revitalised, something only soulful sound can do. It wastes no time hitting you with a powerful and vibrant wall of sound, but it’s inviting and still fun.
Waiting is about two people who are moving through the process of separating from each other, well, trying to, at least. But there’s the confronting realisation that they simply can’t or at least they wouldn’t know how to live without each other.
Gregory delivers power in Waiting, she sends it out through an easy to digest, gorgeous, yet constant crescendo that doesn’t feel repetitive nor forced. Gregory has a way of making texture out of sound. I believe every sound she sends out, it’s commanding, yet not aggressive and overall, it’s without fault. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more.
The song makes you focus and forces you to take stock of what’s around you. Waiting forced me to pay attention to my surroundings, noticing artwork on a wall I rush past without so much as a thought on every other bland day.
I arrived at my desk with a smile. It’s a break-up song, but while that might be the story, the outcome is clarity. Waiting made today a good day. It’s a beautiful track and I’m excited to see what she does next. There’s power in the sound, eloquent lyrics, exquisite delivery and a vibe you don’t ever want to escape. Hit that play button, you won’t be disappointed.
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