GRACE DAVIES - The Wrong Side Of 25

It's easy to say now, but there it is: Simon Cowell was never really a true record executive; his fortune lies in having manipulated the talent show TV format at just the right moment, building a media empire that left behind hundreds of viral moments but precious little music worth remembering. So when his record label Syco shut its doors in 2020 after eighteen years of activity, almost nobody batted an eyelid, since the closure was simply the last stop on an increasingly creaky assembly line. Never mind the millions of disposable albums sold by Leona Lewis, One Direction and Little Mix – once the buzz of victory wore off, Cowell himself showed little interest in the future of his own products.

But poor Grace Davies was only twenty in 2017 when she showed up at the X Factor auditions with an original song, "Roots", which won over both audience and judges – she came second in the final, behind boyband Rak-Su – and earned her a brief run in the UK Top 100. With hindsight, we know she wouldn't have received much help launching a career either, but there's no doubt the closure of Syco derailed her at the most delicate moment, costing her the little attention she'd managed to earn.

Today Grace is 28, with a tough apprenticeship behind her but still driven by passion for her craft, plus the freedom of going independent, which allows her to release an exquisitely melodic yet curious, funny and boisterous electro-acoustic debut. The secret lies in avoiding the traditionalist treacle of Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi, preferring instead to blend the (Brit)pop-rock of Robbie Williams and Melanie C with the cheekiness of Kate Nash and Lily Allen – a parallel with Irish artist CMAT comes naturally to mind.

But between disastrous dates ("MDE"), acoustic tenderness ("Butterflies", "I Hope I Never Live To Love Again") and adrenaline-fuelled nights down the pub ("Do Or Die", "Hotel Delilah"), Grace entertains with charm and a warm blues spirit. It falls to "Youngest I'll Ever Be" to narrate this recent slice of life, this time over a crisp piano line that sounds like it stepped straight out of the aforementioned Robbie's "Feel".

But Grace's pop also has loftier ambitions; accompanied by a hilarious video, the single "Super Love Me" slots the catchiest pre-chorus heard in months onto an Abba-style rollercoaster – and we'll say nothing of the tear-jerking chord progression of "Another Night". There are also truckloads of Beatles on the circular "Lonely Long Enough", while the closing one-two of "It's Mean When You Don't Mean It" and "25" shows off the orchestral flair of a Jeff Lynne.

So "The Wrong Side Of 25" doesn't reinvent anything. But as a listen, it's more than enough to introduce a likeable, capable and on-point songwriter, one who can entertain pretty much everyone, from grandparents to grandchildren, without ever seeming out of place – a subtlety that Syco probably wouldn't have managed to sell properly.

Somewhere in the less forgiving backwaters of the record industry, then, there's also Grace Davies, with a debut album that's a far easier listen than plenty of Top 40 fare – and indeed than several indie offerings passed off as quality. It would be curious if, of all the X Factor casualties branded one-hit wonders, Grace turned out to be the one with the brighter future ahead – judging by this album's high points, she'd deserve it.

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21/01/2026