Most pop songs don’t employ sumptuous strings, but there are two this month that are superb: the Barbra Streisand/Hozier duet of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and the new single from LA artist Fiona Grey entitled “Another Casualty”.
In addition to being one of today’s most accomplished singers, Grey’s songwriting is likewise stellar. This song features one of the best lines of the year: “I’m codependent if I stay, a co-defendant if I go.” Yet it’s not a conventional love song. It’s a lament you’ll never forget – one that great singers are destined to cover in the coming years. (I could hear Lewis Capaldi or Tom Waits covering this, in fact.)
“‘Another Casualty’ is about feeling like you’ve lost control of your own life — like you’re just a passenger in your own story,” says Grey. “It’s not really a breakup song; it’s more about the heartbreak of watching someone you love fall apart and drag you down with them. It’s been one of the harder songs for me to release.”
Grey’s album Adult Tantrums is due in July, and she’s already previewed that LP with “A World Away”, an ethereal duet with kate the dreamer. Another teaser for the album is “Call Me Daisy”, a club banger that chronicles how Fiona started going to queer clubs as a safe sanctuary after a sexual assault.
Fiona Grey is America’s Kate Bush of the turbulent 2020s. In an era of TikTok-fueled pop fluff, Grey’s music is enduringly beautiful.
Watch the video for “Another Casualty” below, or find the song on the streaming platforms.
Follow Fiona Grey on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook.
