An ethereal wash of piano and synths opens the track before Quill’s voice suddenly cuts through and the full weight of the instrumentation crashes in. That contrast becomes central to ‘Black and Grey’, with quieter verses allowing her delicate vocal to hover over shadowy electronic textures before distorted guitars and explosive live drums transform the choruses into something considerably heavier. There are shades of Evanescence in that collision of gothic atmosphere, vulnerability and metal-edged alt-rock, but Quill keeps the focus firmly on mood rather than chasing a huge hook.

With no accompanying video, the song creates plenty of imagery of its own: darkened corridors, grand empty rooms, chandeliers and flickering candlelight all feel at home within its slightly haunted atmosphere. ‘Black and Grey’ never completely explodes nor retreats fully into softness, instead repeatedly moving between the two. For a song about refusing easy emotional extremes, living somewhere in the middle feels exactly right.

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