Natural Causes (Skylar Grey album)

Natural Causes is the third studio album by American recording artist Skylar Grey. It is her second album since her stage name change from Holly Brook to Skylar Grey. It was released on September 23, 2016, by KidinaKorner and Interscope Records.[1][2]

Natural Causes
Studio album by Skylar Grey
Released	September 23, 2016
Genre	Indie pop
Length	49:34
Label	KidinaKorner Interscope
Producer	Alex da Kid (also exec.) Eminem (also exec.) Dan Heath Epikh Pro Jayson DeZuzio Mark Batson Mike Elizondo Skylar Grey Symbolyc One VohnBeatz
Skylar Grey chronology
Don't Look Down (2013) Natural Causes (2016) Dark Thoughts (2020)
Singles from Natural Causes
"Moving Mountains" Released: March 31, 2016 "Off Road" Released: July 21, 2016 "Come Up for Air" Released: September 2, 2016 "Lemonade" Released: September 16, 2016

Background

In early 2015, Grey announced that she was working on a third studio album, which was due to come out in 2015. Grey later attempted to promote the album by joining American band X Ambassadors on their VHS Tour. She later revealed the release date would be on September 23, 2016. Grey additionally claimed that she refused to have any guest features on the album, but eventually gave in when her former "Love the Way You Lie" collaborator Eminem offered to be on the album. He additionally produced "Come Up for Air". The album finds Grey collaborating with various prominent producers, including Alex da Kid, Mike Elizondo, Mark Batson, and Symbolyc One.

Promotion and singles

Grey released the song "Cannonball", featuring American rock band X Ambassadors as the first buzz single from the album on March 31, 2016. The single was later revealed to have been removed from the track list after "Moving Mountains" was declared the first and lead single of the album. The official music video for "Moving Mountains" was released on Vevo the same day. The video was directed by Peter Harding Song and inspired by her home in Utah. The second single from the album, "Off Road", was released on July 22, 2016. The music video for the song was released on the same day in sponsorship with Samsung Gear 360. On September 2, 2016, Grey released the third single "Come Up for Air", which was produced by rapper Eminem. The fourth and last single released on the album, "Lemonade", was released on September 16, 2016. On September 22, 2016 Grey streamed a song on her album titled "Kill For You", which features Eminem, on Rolling Stone. To promote the album, she went on a 12-city tour.[3][4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Edge Media Network	(positive)[6]
Conor Clark	[7]
Indie Band Guru	(positive)[8]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	(positive)[9]
Renowned for Sound	[10]
Immortal Reviews	75/100[11]
BensBeat	7/10[12]
Artistically Trustworthy	[13]
Peauxetic Expressions	(positive)[14]
KnoxNews	[15]

The album was met with critical acclaim and received rave reviews, Michael Smith of Renowned for Sound gave the album 5 stars out of 5, and called it a "masterpiece", writing "In terms of setting the mood, the album's first full song Jump does this perfectly. The song makes perfect use of its sparse arrangement, revolving around a very minimal beat and hand clap combo backed by a repeating guitar line that moves the song forward as Grey sings over the top. [...] Skylar Grey has hands down created her best material yet on Natural Causes, and created a veritable masterpiece that will be remembered long after 2016 is behind us."[10]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "From the misty intro, "Wilderness," which turns the dial to an Auto-Tuned Bon Iver frequency, to the warm acoustic strum of the KT Tunstall-meets-Radiohead 'Moving Mountains', Natural Causes capitalizes on atmosphere and mood, opting to skip the scattered production of Don't Look Down and focus on earnestness and vulnerability."

Alexis Arnold of Indie Band Guru heavily praised the album, writing "It [the album] creates this weird atmosphere that Grey herself rules. She works with a lot of different tones and sounds while still sounding like effortless perfection. It brings the transparency and rawness that’s missing from pop these days while also having a backbone. [...] Skylar Grey is creating a new sound and, in short, it’s impossible to ignore."

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro – Wilderness"	Holly Hafermann Labrinth	Hafermann	1:34
2.	"Jump"	Hafermann Mark Batson Mike Elizondo	Mark Batson Elizondo	4:28
3.	"Lemonade"	Hafermann Larry Griffin Jr. Alex da Kid Javohn Griffin Stuart Lowery	Alex da Kid S1 Epikh Pro^[a] Vohn Beatz^[a]	3:53
4.	"Kill for You" (featuring Eminem)	Hafermann Marshall Mathers Mark Batson Elizondo	Eminem Mark Batson^[a] Elizondo^[a]	4:51
5.	"Come Up for Air"	Hafermann Mathers Luis Resto	Eminem Resto^[a]	4:20
6.	"Real World"	Hafermann Alex da Kid Micah Powell	Alex da Kid	4:02
7.	"Straight Shooter"	Hafermann Jayson DeZuzio	DeZuzio	2:58
8.	"Off Road"	Hafermann DeZuzio	DeZuzio	3:17
9.	"In My Garden"	Hafermann Elizondo	Elizondo Hafermann^[a]	3:15
10.	"Moving Mountains"	Hafermann Mark Batson Elizondo	Mark Batson Elizondo	4:13
11.	"Picture Perfect"	Hafermann L. Griffin Jr. J. Griffin Lowery	S1 Epikh Pro^[a] Vohn Beatz^[a]	4:35
12.	"We Used to Be Bad"	Hafermann Alex da Kid DeZuzio	Alex da Kid DeZuzio	4:10
13.	"Closer"	Hafermann	Hafermann Dan Heath^[b]	3:47
Total length:				49:34

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a co-producer

Personnel

Musicians Skylar Grey – vocals Additional musicians Eminem – vocals (track 4)

Additional personnel Alex da Kid – executive production Eminem – executive production Mark Batson – production Jayson DeZuzio – production, composition Larry Griffin Jr. – production Skylar Grey – production, composition J. Griffin – production Epikh Pro – production Mike Elizondo – production Luis Resto – production

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	193
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[17]	68
French Albums (SNEP)[18]	115

References

1. Williams, Nick. "Singer/Songwriter Skylar Grey Reveals Sophomore Album Title & Release Date: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
2. Sonis, Rachel. "Skylar Grey's Second Album Gets A Title And Release Date". Idolator. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
3. "Singer/Songwriter Skylar Grey Reveals Sophomore Album Title & Release Date: Exclusive". Billboard. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
4. "Skylar Grey Announces Natural Causes Tour". www.pollstar.com. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
5. "Natural Causes – Skylar Grey – Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
6. "Natural Causes". EDGE Media Network.
7. Clark, Conor (2017-03-29). "Album Review: 'Natural Causes' by Skylar Grey". Conor Clark. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
8. "Skylar Grey Releases Highly Anticipated 'Natural Causes' Solo Album". indiebandguru.com.
9. "Album reviews: Skylar Grey, Mac Miller, more".
10. "Album Review: Skylar Grey - Natural Causes". 18 September 2016.
11. "Skylar Grey - Natural Causes". Immortal Reviews. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
12. bensbeat (2016-09-27). "Skylar Grey – Natural Causes". Ben's Beat - Music Reviews. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
13. "It Comes Naturally: Skylar Grey, "Natural Causes" Album Review". The New Age. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
14. "Skylar Grey: Greatness of Natural Causes". Peauxetic Expressions. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
15. "Music review: Skylar Grey's 'Natural Causes' dinged by unnatural production". www.knoxnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
16. "Ultratop.be – Skylar Grey – Natural Causes" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
17. "Skylar Grey Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
18. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 39, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 4, 2016.