Who is Gracie Abrams?

The power of social media is not to be denied. Because of it I discovered this little artist called Gracie Abrams just in time for her debut album.I first learned about Gracie Abrams when one of my Twitter mutuals kept tweeting about her.

Finding out about Abrams wasn't too difficult for me. She is a singer-songwriter who has received praise from people like Taylor Swift. Abrams will actually open up for Swift during her “The Eras Tour” that began on March 17 2023. Abrams is the daughter of J.J Abrams best known for directing The Star Wars trilogy.

Abrams is signed to Interscope Records along with musicians such as Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and more. She is described to have a “bedroom pop,” a vulnerable kind of vibe along with indie pop, soft pop, and pop in general, with her influences being Joni Mitchell, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver and more.

Along with Swift's stamp of approval, I was curious as to whether her music lives up to my mutual hype that I have been seeing on Twitter.Thus, I visited her Spotify profile and selected songs like "..Feels Like," "Rockland," and "For real this time" from her EP "This is what it feels like," which were her most streamed songs at the time [before her debut album “Good Riddance” arrived on streaming services].

I pressed play on the song with the title "... Feels Like," and Abrams' voice could be heard right away. Starting off as a piano ballad, Abrams hooks me right away, and the instrumental takes you on a rollercoaster while keeping you on the same wavelength.

One of the song's lines is "The train was cold, we left Connecticut." Abrams stated in her Genius interview that the song is about a time she and her friend Audrey took the train from New York to Fairfield, Connecticut, to watch the movie After. Despite the fact that I already reside here, she makes me want to travel to Connecticut and experience what she did.

Abrams' "Camden," one of the rawest and saddest songs she has ever written, is a featured track on her EP. My generation is dealing with mental health difficulties more than ever before, a subject that was previously considered taboo. Abrams sheds light on her depression, her sense of helplessness, her struggle for survival, and more: "I never said but I know that I can't picture anything past 25 / Somebody take over the drive and somebody notice how I’m trying.”

Abrams' voice is unique, I haven’t heard her belt yet but she is subtle. The emotion she gives to her music lets you feel precisely how she is feeling. Her voice is silky with a few voice cracks that appear intentional, and she can transport you to places you couldn't imagine.

When we hear about a relationship, we frequently witness a one-sided account of how it ended, with no one accepting responsibility. In Abrams' situation, however, we see both accounts of hers and this mystery man she sings about.

When it comes to the toxic relationship she is writing about, Abrams is fighting a battle deep inside herself. Yes, she is taking responsibility for her failure in the relationship, but it almost seems as though she is contradicting herself; she wants the relationship to end, but at the same time she doesn't: “I know better and you’re ignoring me / still if you asked me to run away I'd go easily.”

Her debut album is about heartbreak, taking responsibility, and confession. Abrams acknowledges her mistakes in the relationship that she is obviously writing about: "and I destroyed every silver lining you had/in your head, all of your feelings, I played with them.” She continues, "Used to lie to your face 20 times in a day, it was my little strange addiction.” in her song “Best”

“Where do we go now?” continues on this theme of confession with lyrics like “like I miss you, but when I kissed you back I lied/You don’t know how hard I tried, Had to fake the longest time.”

With her song "Would You Cry," Abrams shifts the attention to the mysterious man and his troubles. She is now expressing to us how she feels about the connection and how it is diminishing: “Now I’m what your bored of/ now you walk through me with my heart heavy/ breaking my reverie, I could die early,”

Her music made me experience a range of feelings, including sadness, anger, and peace. In my opinion, for an album to be deemed top-tier, the artist must immerse the listener in their universe, and that is exactly what Gracie achieved. Everything about it, from the production (from drums to piano) to the storytelling, was shaped to create an extraordinary body of work.

The message of Good Riddance is about finally letting go of something toxic, about continuing a relationship that would only cause her pain. She leads you through a journey of being honest with yourself, admitting your faults, wants, and insecurities while also pointing out some warning signs in her potential partner on how she feels when they are together.

If you are curious about Abrams, I would recommend you to start with one of a few of my favorite songs that instantly had me hooked, which are “Feels like..” which talks about friendship and the concept that a new person might enter your life and it feels like.. They were supposed to be there all along. “Where do we go now?” is about a relationship that is fading into nothingness, all the love is gone, and I'm not feeling the same way you do anymore. Finally “Rockland” is for my overthinkers, who frequently feel anxious and doubt their own actions to decide whether they were beneficial or if their actions resulted in a mistake.

Abrams has songs for everyone regardless of your age, gender, or experiences.