The Secret Of Us

 The Secret Of Us 

a prospection of Gracie Abrams

    Gracie's sophomore album The Secret Of Us came out on June 21st of 2024. I have been a Gracie Abrams fan since 2021/2022 ish and I believe that this is by far her most disappointing work. While this may not be a revolutionary opinion, Gracie Abrams' plummet in quality has been due to her recent relations with Taylor Swift, which raises the question, when can meeting a mentor be a bad thing? And is it true that one should not meet their idols?

    The Secret Of Us' cover reflects my initial opinions on the album, negative ones. When I first saw the cover, I hated the font style of the title and the posing of her face (I love you, I'm sorry Abby). While these negative opinions were not entirely righteous considering it was simply a cover and the album was yet to be heard, it also reflected a brighter aesthetic than her previous albums. What I am expecting from Gracie is not constant depression. I believe that she can make happier music, but the stark contrast between this cover and Good Riddance displays inconsistency within her image. The reinvention she was going for in this album felt bland, as it marked a shift from her previously mellow style into a more generic pop beat, losing the individuality she once had. To compare this album to her arguably most "poppy" project minor, the songs off minor stick out in a playlist, whereas the songs off The Secret Of Us blend in. The fan favorite Blowing Smoke is the third track on The Secret Of Us, and Under/Over is the third track on minor, subjectively, Under/Over distinctively holds dramatic pauses and interesting instrumentals creating an exceptional pop song, but Blowing Smoke's simple guitar back track melts into the plethora of guitar ballads on the rest of the album. While those were just two tracks, the theme of experimental, developed pop compared to generic pop separates Abrams' previous works from her new album. My first impressions were negative and as each new piece of this era came to light I felt more and more disappointed by the lack of novelty surrounding Abrams' second album. 

    Gracie Abrams opened for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour, and is set to continue doing so later this year. I saw her Foxborough night 3 at Gillette Stadium, and I enjoyed her set a lot, but the evolution of her music due to her recognition by Swift has felt regressive. The friendship the two share is unquestionable, especially due to the photos, videos, and interviews the two have shared featuring each other, and additionally the Taylor Swift feature on Abrams' song Us, where the album title comes from. While I am a massive Taylor Swift fan and have been since I was 12, I am also a massive Gracie Abrams fan due to both of their own individual aspects of songwriting and music production. The joy that came from liking both artists found itself in the distinction, which is why so many of those artists promoting themselves as "Taylor Swift style singers" do not end up garnering any fame. Music artists are called artists for a reason, they create art, and art cannot be simply copied. The basis of art stems from finding new mediums to display emotions, feelings, beliefs, and other opinions, but if Claude Monet and Van Gogh painted in the same style, they would not have been the household names they are today. The significance of artwork is that it is unique, complex, and beautiful, and when the uniqueness factor is lost, the artwork fails. It is apparent that Gracie Abrams views Taylor Swift as a mentor due to her extensive success in the music industry, and therefore Abrams has taken inspiration from and has worked directly with Swift to create her new sound on this album, but the influence of Swift on Abrams' music has lost the separation between Swift and Abrams creating almost a Taylor Swift clone instead of a new pop star. Gracie Abrams has clearly had an advantage in the music industry due to her father's, J.J. Abrams', role in Hollywood, and when the combination of a dull sound with an industry plant past combine, the outcome is not a recipe for success. While she may be popular right now, unless Gracie Abrams finds her own fanbase that is not derived from Taylor Swift's, she will lose the traction she has had, and she will become just another forgotten child of nepotism. 

    Gracie Abrams is new to the music industry, but her fame now seems to feed off of Taylor Swift's, leaving her with little to no individuality within this space. The negative impacts Taylor Swift has placed on Gracie Abrams' career demonstrates the harmful effects of idolization and inspiration, because although they started as mere friends Abrams will continue to struggle in her future to separate herself from Swift. Despite my pessimistic outlook on this album, I did genuinely enjoy it. While it may be my least favorite of Abrams' works, last.fm says I have listened to it 350 times, more than minor which is at 332, so I do not despise the album. Although it has its feeble moments, I will continue to support Gracie Abrams in her career, and I am simply hoping for her to return back to her previous styles of music and create a more extraordinary catalog. I will be seeing her for a third time in October, so Boston people keep a lookout for a 16 year old (as of tomorrow) in the mezzanine section. While her recent album felt insignificant and uninteresting, I do hope for a brighter (or darker) future for her down the road. 

Thank you for reading once again!!! Hopefully I will do more music critiques like this in the future, and shoutout to my band teacher last year for telling me to be a music critic after the numerous projects I have done on Taylor Swift (I've gone through like every album at this point). As much as I shat on it, I love this record, and my favs are I love you, I'm sorry (see my Pinterest username), gave you I gave you I, and free now!!! Even though I didn't include it I also thought it was ironic that she finally released Close To You after years of it lying unreleased with nothing more than a 30 second clip. Alright I'm done yapping hopefully you all have a great night!!