Gracie Abrams 'The Secret of Us' review.

As an Avid Swiftie and a lover of heartbreaking writing, I was super excited to see Gracie's Abrams release another album. Gracie Abrams, if you don’t know who she is, is an emerging singer-songwriter in the music scene with a Grammy nomination and she got the honor of opening on Taylor Swift's Eras tour, she also just released her second studio album, 'The Secret of Us'. All that being said Abrams seems to be lined up to be our next ‘it girl’, but does her ability really line up to all this fame?

This album provides an intimate glimpse into Abrams' life, notably through the lead single "Risk," where she navigates infatuation with someone she doesn't know, capturing the whirlwind of new attraction with lyrics like "haven't even met him/watch this be the wrong thing classic." Throughout this album, Abrams showcases her songwriting expertise. It’s evident in tracks like "Let it Happen," where she explores evolving emotions and calls back to "Risk" with lines such as "I barely know you still / Don’t love you yet but probably will," and of course it is all delivered in her trademark whispery vocals.

Despite her lyrical depth and gorgeous delivery, the album often settles into a predictable pattern of an acoustic guitar and pulsing drums, it's very reminiscent of Taylor Swift's style, who is actually featured on the album. But over 13 tracks, this pattern become somewhat monotonous. Speaking of Swift, the album's centerpiece and where its title comes from is “us. (feat. Taylor Swift),” it's a dreamy acoustic track produced by the duo, Dessner and Antonoff. Abrams and Swifts voices harmonize beautifully, singing introspective lines like “I felt it, you held it, do you miss us, us? / Wonder if you regret the secret of us,” with Abrams taking the lead. Swift's presence feels like a stamp of approval, like she is saying that Abram should be the next 'it girl'. Swift does blend seamlessly with Abrams' youthful and introspective style, and I hope that they work together more in the future. They even seem to reference Swifts newest album “The Tortured Poets Department” at least the lines about annotated sonnets and Robert Blywith seem to call attention to it.

Although Abrams' voice is undeniably beautiful and her lyricism is strong, as evidenced in tracks like 'I Love You, I'm Sorry,' the sister to 'I miss you, I'm sorry' from her album 'Minor'. She does occasionally lean too heavily into her wispy vocal style, overshadowing the poetic lyricism of the track, and she missed the opportunity to release the emotional tension at the climax of 'I Love you, I'm sorry" However, on tracks like "I Knew It, I Know You" she seems to demonstrate raw emotion, reminiscent of her earlier works.

In summary, Abrams demonstrates a gift for expressing deep emotions and weaving narratives across multiple songs, and despite moments of brilliance in 'The Secret of Us', she hasn't quite unlocked the formula for creating a truly outstanding pop album. With her talent, Abrams is in the perfect position to achieve balance in her future work. In today's crowded landscape of female singer-songwriters, she has the ingredients for success but this album seems to fall a bit short of the expectations of a great pop album.

— Album score- 7.5/10

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