Just over a year ago, American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams released her debut album ‘Good Riddance’. Since then, she has kept busy touring the world as both a headliner and an opener for none other than Taylor Swift on her ‘The Eras Tour’. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep Abrams away from the studio.
‘The Secret of Us’, the artist’s sophomore album, came to be in between breaks from being on the road. As shared by Abrams herself in an interview with W Magazine, the record explores experiences she and her best friend – and flatmate – Audrey Hobert would share with one another after their nights out. For a project that originated from such a familiar space, it only made sense for Aaron Dessner to return as the – nearly – sole producer of the record. A collaboration that started when Abrams was working on her first record, the two artists have become close friends, allowing the most personal themes to come to life during their sessions.
If for the most part ‘Good Riddance’ approached more introspective themes, ‘The Secret of Us’ explores the many ways in which different relationships can affect a young woman in her early twenties. From the blossoming of brand-new feelings to the bittersweetness that hits when those same emotions come to an end, the album reflects on each step along the way.
In her storytelling, Abrams is rarely afraid to paint herself as the surface-level villain. She sings of pushing people away and ending things too soon, but she also proves to be caring and willing even when unreciprocated. ‘I knew it, I know You’ and ‘Gave You I, Gave You I’, two tracks that play in succession, showcase those two sides of the same coin: Abrams being both the executioner of her love affair and the person nurturing a garden of love that was always meant to wilt in the end.
‘The Secret of Us’ appears to be highly self-referential: from the track ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’ directly hinting at ‘I miss you, I’m sorry’, a song from Abrams’ debut EP ‘minor’, to instrumentals and lyrics alluding to tracks from both the latest and previous releases, the album ties subjects together in a way that isn’t lost on Abrams’ most avid listeners – like the closer of the project, ‘Close To You’, a last-minute addition to the tracklist as an act of fan service. First teased on the artist’s Instagram in 2017, the track has been a fan favourite ever since, so much so that Abrams felt compelled to rework it and gift it to her audience as part of ‘The Secret of Us’.
It would be impossible to discuss this album without touching on the near title track, ‘us.’. Co-written by and featuring Taylor Swift, produced by both Dessner and self-proclaimed pop music hoarder producer Jack Antonoff – the credits alone speak for themselves -, the sonic build and lyricisms have the Swift-Aaron-Antonoff trifecta trademark. The track could have belonged amongst one of the many versions of Swift’s latest album ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, and yet, it seamlessly sits on Abrams’, tying the essence of the record in a pretty bow.
‘The Secret of Us’ is the pining that comes with a second decade of your life coming to an end; the longing for love and connection and for wanting things to work so badly, even when it’s clear they’re just not meant to be.
I will be honest, on first listen I felt betrayed by what this album had come to be in my mind. ‘Risk’ and ‘Close To You’, the only tracks that were shared pre-release, painted a sonic scenery that boomed with vibrant and upbeat colours. And though it did not fall flat nor get lost on me, I first had to sit with some kind of metaphorical loss. As someone who is quite fond of the sonic variety on ÄThis Is What It Feels Like’, the facets shown on ‘The Secret of Us’ weren’t immediately received. ‘The Secret of Us’ is ‘Good Riddance’ with an extra kick and ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ with a more mature nature. It’s the middle of the road capable of balancing some of Abrams’ strongest assets.
And perhaps it was my bad for thinking this album would be all-out and loud when clearly it is meant to be an understated sentence, a synchronous feeling, a thought shared under a breath in soft-spoken words.
Written by Benns Borgese // photography by Abbie Waisler
GEM Magazine 