134. Single Review of A Different Lens by CFGKeys
Originally Published on May 23rd
About the Artist
One of the best resources a musician has is their dreams. They are an experience that can only be interpreted by the person that has them. We can ultimately say the same thing about perspective, but to a degree, that may reference a more shared or relative experience, like a break up or the loss of a parent or friend. Dreams are amplifications our perspective; doorways into our subconscious. As writers, the ability to accurately translate a dream can have profound, meaningful results.
Chris Groom, aka cfgkeys had a dream. A dream about his father. He found the words and the melody to articulate it.
Groom, a UK independent recording artist, approaches songwriting where he is in that moment. Per Groom, “I don’t stick to one style or genre. Sometimes it’s rough around the edges, sometimes it’s more polished, but it’s always honest.” (Bandcamp bio) As I understand how he explains his songwriting process, I imagine it to be a very expressive way to do it. It sounds unfiltered, unquestioned, and bold.
It’s an extraordinary thought to approach songwriting without planning, without editing. It reminds me of something Justin Vernon once said of Bon Iver. About how the band is “like a faucet” that he has to “turn it off and walk away from it because so much of how that music comes together is subconscious or discovering.” (wikipedia) To read about Groom’s process, he tells a similar story, creatively.
Groom has been releasing music since 2019, when he debuted with his single Girl in the Photograph. This beautifully written piano ballad is a love song that was inspired by looking at old photos and videos of his wife.
Groom would follow his debut release in March of 2021 with the release of his single, Love Lives Forever. As with Girl in the Photograph, this piano ballad is emotionally charged as it touches on loss, grief, and mourning as it references the loss of a loved one. Here Groom circles the concept of spirituality, where the soul departs to, and how we who are left manage the grief of loss.
Two years later, Groom released Blackout Tonight in November of 2023, then in April of 2024, he released Take Me Away. Take Me Away represents a dynamic shift in the production of Groom’s music, as it represents a stylistic change to his music. The incorporation of programmed percussion, more electronic elements to the production. Take Me Away features backing vocals and building themes that really represent the diversity that was mentioned in his creative process.
On Valentine’s Day, Chris Groom released the song Summer After You as cfgkeys on Bandcamp, which is a song about love ending. He later followed this release with Breakfast With Ricardo, an instrumental piano ballad. Both songs are also available on Spotify as Chris Groom.
About the Song
A Different Lens is a piano ballad released by Chris Groom as cfgkeys and is currently available to stream on Bandcamp. A Different Lens released on May 16th, 2025 and has a runtime of just over 4 minutes. Chris Groom performed the vocal and piano in this release, as well as recorded, mixed, and mastered the work.
About the Music
As I eluded earlier, A Different Lens is a song that was inspired by a dream Chris Groom had about his father. This piano ballad has a very melancholic atmosphere and showcases a vocal performance that has a wider range than what seems to be evident in his other releases. Stylistically, the song almost feels like Soul or R&B. Groom’s performance almost seems to be deeply connected to his emotional reaction to the experience as each note wants to process its feeling before moving to the next.
As with many dreams, the lyrics play as a memory, as if the narrator is watching a home video. There are very touching elements incorporated in the lyrical process that prompt contemplative reactions: “Your camera hanging from your neck like it sometimes used to do. In all the moments you captured by it, is there one of me and you?”
I think this line is particularly interesting because it alludes to the narrator expressing a sentiment of loss for the person they’re addressing. The narrator has also made references of being in the house they grew up in but then later explains that there are weeds growing through the floor of their shed and cobwebs around the tools that were “left behind,” which is a more definitive address to the topic.
The melancholic atmosphere and the ambiguous lyrical narrative say all the things without deliberately saying the words; that this narrator has lost the person they’re singing about. The performance is a profound one, and it really triggers an emotional reaction. The piano performance almost weeps behind the lyrics and Groom’s vocals are desperate and determined to tell this beautiful story of loss, grief, and the memories the narrator clings to that help keep this person in their life.
Final Thoughts
Chris Groom is a performer who hangs in the balance of his talent and emotion. The pairing of his performance with the content of his music is truly symbiotic as the two components truly seem to fuel one another. It leaves his audience (or this audience member) with a feeling of rapport with the artist, as the evidence that he is willing to bare his soul is not only apparent, it is imperative.
Groom has a gift of being able to articulate reflection. He analyzes memory in a way that transports an audience to that moment, as if we are standing behind a two-way mirror, witnessing these moments. It is a compelling way to invite his listeners into his own emotionally-charged experiences.
Groom does show an ability to be diverse and dynamic, stylistically. I like hearing the ranges of his performance. As he has proved with A Different Lens, he seems to be most comfortable in moments where most people would feel most uncomfortable; in those moments of total and utter vulnerability. I can admire this, I can envy it, and I can also sympathize. To make one’s self vulnerable to an audience can be terrifying but Chris Groom embraces the fear. It teaches his listener to do the same and we are all the stronger for it.
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Listen to A Different Lens
Take a moment today to sit down, relax, and go press play.
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