A singer and songwriter who knew her calling by the age of 15, Hilary McRae would be one of the first 䀘developing artists' to release an album on the Starbucks Cafe and Concord Music Group's label, Hear Music. Her retro-soul style, which drew comparisons to seventies soul and pop, was collected on the full length Through These Walls in 2008. The album, which was created with long time collaborator Zach Ziskin, also featured the talents of arranger Charlie Calello. The album would go on to peak well within the top twenty on Billboard's Top Heatseekers.