Grace Woodroofe

Grace Rachel Woodroofe is a blues singer and guitarist from Perth, Australia. From 2015-2021, she performed under the name R.W. Grace. In 2023 she announced her return to music with a new single "Beginning", again using her original artist name of "Grace Woodroofe".^[1]

Career

When she was 17 and still in high school, Woodroofe recorded two demos of songs she wrote and uploaded them to the Triple J website Unearthed.^[2] One of her friends was also Heath Ledger's sister, and the friend sent Ledger a link to Woodroofe's music. Ledger liked Woodroofe's music, so he invited her to Los Angeles, where she met Ben Harper, who also took a liking to her music. Woodroofe was Ledger's first music act signed to his label The Masses.^[3] Harper later produced her debut album, Always Want,^[4] and his band, Relentless7, played on the album.^[5] Ledger also produced a video for her cover of the David Bowie song "Quicksand".^[6] In 2010, she said of this video that "It was completely his vision. He directed it, edited it, styled it and shot it. He did everything," adding that "When people will see it they will realise how amazingly gifted he was."^[2] Always Want was originally released only in Australia on 27 September 2011, and was released in the United States the following January,^[7] both times on Modular Recordings.^[8] She also collaborated with Mark Eitzel on the album; for example, they co-wrote its title track.^[5] In May 2013, she released the song "Dead Weight", reportedly as a single from her upcoming second album.^[9]

In 2014, she rebranded herself simply as "Grace" and released the single "Pluto" on Liberation Music. She had recorded the song in Los Angeles with Dave Sitek. She moved to Sydney, Australia in March 2015. After fellow Australian singer Grace Sewell, also performing under the name "Grace", released a successful single in May 2015, Woodroofe decided to rebrand herself as "R.W. Grace". The R. refers to her middle name, "Rachel", while the W. stands for her last name.^[10] Her music released under the "R.W. Grace" moniker is considered to contain elements of electronica and folk.^[11] In 2015, she released the EP Love It Need It Miss It Want It, also on Liberation Music.^[12]

Critical reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Always Want has a score of 72 out of 100 based on 5 reviews.^[13] AllMusic's Jon O'Brien gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, and described it as "an always intriguing listen which appears to have fulfilled the potential of [Woodroofe's] fairy tale beginnings."^[14] Some critics compared Woodroofe's style on the album to that of Fiona Apple and Amy Winehouse.^[7] Consequence of Sound's Alex Young gave the album a C+, describing it as "an album of powerfully raw emotions."^[15]

Journalist Kim Taylor Bennett described Woodroofe's song "Pluto" as "PJ Harvey if she was raised on synths rather than distorted guitars". In describing the same song, Bennett also wrote, "Sensuously spare verses creep towards a chorus that's full blown pop without losing any of its edge."^[16]

Discography

As Grace Woodroofe

• Always Want (Modular Recordings album, 2011/2012)

As R.W. Grace

• Pluto (Liberation Music single, 2014)
• Love It Need It Miss It Want It (Liberation Music EP, 2015)

References

1. "Premiere: Grace Woodroofe returns with a powerful new beginning". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 February 2023.
2. Rimrod, Fran (1 December 2010). "Heath Ledger's protege emerges with new album". Sydney Morning-Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
3. "Heath Ledger Teams Up with Ben Harper to Launch New Record Label". Starpulse Entertainment News Blog. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
4. "Woodroofe gets by with a little help from her friends". ABC. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
5. Pareles, Jon (24 January 2012). "New Albums by Tim McGraw, Grace Woodroofe and Richard Galliano". New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
6. Roberts, Randall (9 July 2008). "Heath Ledger's Final Days Among the Masses". LA Weekly. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
7. "Grace Woodroofe On World Cafe". NPR. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
8. Hemmerling, Joe. "Always Want Review". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
9. "Grace Woodroofe is soul star in the making". PerthNow. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
10. "Grace Woodroofe returns with new name and sound". The West Australian. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
11. Collar, Matt. "R.W. Grace Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
12. "R.W. Grace". Liberation Records. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
13. "Always Want". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
14. O'Brien, Jon. "Always Want Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
15. Young, Alex (19 January 2012). "Grace Woodroofe – Always Want". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
16. Bennett, Kim Taylor (27 January 2015). "Premiere: Grace's Video for "Pluto" Is Like a Minimalist take on J.Lo's 'The Cell'". Noisey. Retrieved 30 July 2018.