“The Secret Of Us” is Gracie Abrams’ second full-length album and her most unique yet. The album was released on June 21, 2024, and has received millions of streams across multiple platforms. The album was published by Interscope, with the producers being Jack Antonoff, Sam de Jong and Aaron Dessner.
The lead single of the album, “Risk,” was unveiled on May first, exciting fans about the potential release date of a new album. The lyrics of “Risk” tell the story of having a crush on a person and how risky it can really be. It is an upbeat ballad talking about the anxious feeling of desiring somebody and how deep of a hole you can dig yourself into when you have a crush.
One of the most eye-grabbing tracks on the album was “Us (ft. Taylor Swift.)” The two artists have similar styles of music, making the collaboration] a really fun and unique track. The two’s relationship began when Swift invited Abrams to her birthday party. Their friendship has ended with Abrams as the the opener to multiple shows at Swift’s Eras Tour.
The opening track, “Felt Good About You,” talks about the feeling of realizing sometimes people may be better off without someone, but still being disappointed by it. The guitar riff in this track is beautiful, almost making it sound like it was recorded underwater. The sound feels a little hazy, which fits how Abrams feels about the relationship she’s singing about.
Another notable track that stuck out to me was “I love you, I’m sorry” which seems to be the sequel to her breakout song released in 2020, “I miss you, I’m sorry,” which is Abrams’ most streamed song of all time. The lyrics to this track really hit deep, as she even admits in the song that sometimes she can be the problem too.
The last track that really caught my attention was “Free now.” The song starts out pretty slow and calm, giving the assumption that it will be a nice and relaxing song. However, the song then builds up, and almost turns into a rock song. Like usual, the lyrics hit really hard. Eventually, Abrams expresses the lyrics “All I feel is free now,” which shows her letting go of this crush that she had and is putting the past behind her. Ultimately, this song really impressed me and is definitely my favorite of the album. What shocked me the most is that this is not the closing track of the album. Instead, it’s “Close to you,” which was released as a secondary single before the album’s release. I feel that “Free now” fits better as the closing track, as the entirety of the album takes you through a journey of crushing and all the mixed emotions that come with it.
As a whole, “The Secret Of Us” is a great album that shows Abrams’ unique style of writing and lyrics that hit right through the bone. I would rate this album a 9.5/10, as I think the album has great lyrics and writing, I just feel as if the closing track should be “Free now,” and not “Close to you.”
Jaden Haley • Oct 31, 2024 at 10:31 am
Great Story!