The Tartan

I have never claimed to be a huge fan of Gracie Abrams, one of the music industry’s new favorite nepotism babies, but I do frequent her most standout tracks, especially some of her oldest tracks and the singles from her debut “Good Riddance.” That was the case until this June, when she dropped her second studio album “The Secret of Us.” I listened in the kitchen with my mother and sister, whose input may pop up at points throughout this article; I also wrote down a plethora of notes that remained untouched for months, some great and some awful. But when Abrams released a deluxe version of the record on Oct. 18, I revisited my original thoughts — and found that many of them had changed, but many had stayed exactly the same.

“Felt Good About You”

I like the synth refrain that opens the song and runs under the track a LOT. The repetition of the title is so simple, but so effective. One of my typical complaints with Abrams’ music has been the underutilization of her voice, which can actually be very bold, so I enjoy how clean its production on this track is. Except for a few vocal warps, it stays clear, and when she adds in an excess of breath, it’s an effective accent. The pickup in the instrumental in the second minute, and the added tambourine, are both incredibly fun. I’m satisfied; it’s a strong thematic opener.

“Risk”

I enjoyed this single for weeks before the album, and I love the faster pace. It reminds me a little bit of songs from Taylor Swift’s “Red” in its instrumentals. I think she could do with more enunciation, but overall, it’s a good showcase of her vocal range. I don’t love her tone, but I’m mature enough to admit it’s my personal preference. The layering in the pre-chorus is cool, and I love the chorus’s catchy lyrics. The beginning of the bridge is great, but honestly, I hate the screaming at the end. (I’ve never liked that trick.) I still thoroughly enjoy this song. Abrams’ new collaborator, Aaron Dessner, has done so much for me — even throwing in a snare line in the last chorus! The subtle production layers are so good, and proof that he loves me. 

“Blowing Smoke”

My notes open with “I don’t fully understand her,” and I can only hear her diction now months later. The vocals are, as is common, a little airy for my taste. Her lyrics are really cutting — “if she’s got a pulse she meets your standards now” — but if I can’t hear them at the top of the line with a fuller voice, they’re not interesting to me. Frankly, this song isn’t a standout. On my first listen, I tuned out half of it. I appreciate the wispy background vocals, and she begins to really sing in the second chorus, but I still came away underwhelmed. This is the first track I’ve been let down by.

“I Love You I’m Sorry”

Strong self-deprecating lyrics, and a pretty track overall. The first few times I listened, I found it so bland. I’ve since been overwhelmed by how many times I’ve heard it on social media recently, so I know every single part of the song by heart (against my will). I initially described the lyrics as “not thesaurus-y enough to be annoying, but she’s definitely writing something,” and I’ll be more gracious now to admit I love the bridge. I eat it up every time. I like this song, and I like it more than I did several months ago — but the back half is the most redeeming part. It’s a grown-up “I miss you, I’m sorry” and it really settles her into her style as a growing artist.

“us” featuring Taylor Swift

I like this sonically already from the finger-plucking intro. This has Swift and Dessner all over it, and you can tell with the low vocals and the faint layering (which eventually saves the track). But I wish I liked the chorus! The run on “us” isn’t glorious. The lyrics aren’t compelling. It’s just… not that good. Swift clears Abrams so hard on her own song — it simply sounds so much better in her voice because she sings firmly, not airily. I can always hear her, and I WOULD listen to Taylor Swift sing a phone book or an academic journal, but I digress. This bridge is delicious until the line “you plus me was us.” In the words of a text from my younger sister, “oh girl no.”

“Let It Happen”

The stripped back nature with stronger vocals works better for her in general — quiet can be good if you make it good, and Dessner excels here. His instrumental supports her vocals perfectly. Certain lyrics are like a knife to the gut, including the first verse’s drop of “backbone made of glass and then it broke.” Her thematic throughline of the sacrificial nature of this album’s love story is SO clear, and months later, I can confirm this is one of the most underrated tracks. The last chorus ad libs are so necessary. Stretch that voice, Gracie! Use it!

“Tough Love”

I love the melodic progression on this track, and the propulsive songwriting is so fantastic. Learning these lyrics was so much fun, especially because they’re illustrative and yet so catchy. The Dessner stamp of production is all over the percussion and the light synths in the background. I just love how this sounds. This is a perfect sound for her, with its very bright while still sad lyrics. Her vocals are at their most clean here, and while I HATE talk-singing, the bridge here is acceptable. And we get a real belted note at the end of it! Fantastic. One of my discography and album favorites still.

“I Knew It, I Knew You”

I’m bored again. This sounds identical to the songs before it, but it doesn’t hold up. The chorus lyrics are well-done, and I enjoy it more as the strings start to pop up near 1:30. Its bridge is the strongest part, and the outro is fantastic. The vocal layering and guitar are so delightful, and it’s a shame it’s sonically different from the rest of the track, because I like it more.

“Gave You I Gave You I”

The intro is literally “Renegade” by “Big Red Machine” but different. I’m like that guy that can identify Jack Antonoff’s production on a song after five seconds but with Aaron Dessner it is out of love, not hate. The repetition of “gave you I” is crazy, and perfect. These hearty lyrics and pulled-back production style work so much better for her than the muddled line between bombastic and mumbling she’s occasionally fallen into. Her storytelling and imagery, giving and giving until she just feels used, is so sad, and so vivid. It’s a really strong track overall, falling in the upper half of my personal ranking easily.

“Normal Thing”

The second verse was the first time I actually became interested in the song. The thumping beat kicking in snapped my attention back after a minute of zoning out. To be honest, I don’t love the lyrics. They’re just boring in comparison to her usual fare to me! The second chorus is the highlight of the song, but the outro just drags. It’s not simplistic in a gripping way, but a rather monotone one. At least there are strings, always a nice touch.

“Good Luck Charlie”

All the imagery in this track is very vivid and hyperspecific, but the track ends up being boring again. It’s a good spotlight of her lower range, but the song is too slow to be engaging. I don’t love the way she styles her voice in the chorus. It feels like a ballad that didn’t want to commit enough to being a ballad, and if I’m being transparent, I did skip it on my first listen of the album, and I can’t say I’ve listened much since.

“Free Now”

At first I was wondering why we were dipping into a bossa nova adjacent pond, and sat through the song as background noise. But then, 1:45 hits, and I sat bolt upright. The transition caught me SO off guard. Suddenly there’s a whiplash uptick in the tempo, her vocals become bolder, the lyrics become aggressive, and I start to enjoy myself. It’s so much better than the first half of the track — her voice over the drums and the rambling lyrics are a highlight that last an all too-brief time, and I wish it was a longer section. Overall, the song is a bit of a disjointed mess, but parts of it sound phenomenal.

“Close To You”

Some of us have been exceedingly casual Abrams fans for a long while, but have been DEVOUT fans of this song. It was her perfect pop track for the 1:30 I had saved to a Spotify artist leaks podcast playlist, and I’m so glad she finally decided to capitalize on its virality. The vocal chops behind the intro and the rest of the track, the propulsive beat, the phenomenal 6/10 pop lyrics — it’s a hit, and a perfect formula I’d love to see Abrams follow for her future releases. This is a perfect niche for her voice: strong but also light, and relying heavily on her vocal interplay with the production. Repetition is good, as proven with the opener and the (standard version) closing track. I have no qualms about saying that it’s one of her best tracks to date.

“Cool”

The folksy production catches me off guard after the more electronic nature of the preceding track, but the lyrics are so incisive and directed. I almost feel like I’m eavesdropping on a needed fight, especially when she begins to namedrop fictional or real friends involved in this broken-down relationship. The song isn’t going to be a personal favorite, I can tell, but I do enjoy the way it sounds, especially the crescendoing bridge. 

“That’s So True”

This song is also so fantastic. I’ve been listening to it on Instagram for the past several days on loop, so the full track doesn’t surprise me at all. The bold guitar and the audacious lyrics are delightful. It’s another track fans have been begging her to release for months, and surprisingly, it also holds up. The chorus is enjoyable, but the bridge is the standout. Horribly sad lyrics that still have me dancing in my seat, paired with a great showcase of her vocals through the outro. It’s a perfect deluxe version single, and a good marketing choice to keep the album’s relevance into the fall. 

“I Told You Things”

I like the quirky electronic blips in the backdrop of the track, but the lyrics and vocals are another set of disappointing fare until the production picks up in the back half. I just found myself struggling to pay attention, even when the song began to grasp for it. 

“Packing It Up”

Incredibly sweet lyrics from the opening. Beautiful mundane things to want for someone is a wonderful display of love, and I like the change of pace from the bitter, angry breakup we’ve needed to dwell on. In the end, it’s a romantic track, and a very saccharine one without being too overdone. It’s nothing special, but fits perfectly in the little lineup of bonus tracks.

“I Love You, I’m Sorry,” “I Knew It, I Knew You,” and “Free Now” (Live)

These are infinitely better than the studio versions, because she’s singing proudly, and sounds so beautiful. For every qualm I’ve had about her music and use of her voice, she’s really come into her own as an artist in terms of identity with this album, and she really does sound nice on these three tracks. And yes, I did fall prey to that little last chorus “haunts me” note change in ILYIS, and no, I have no shame. An upgrade and a nice closing run to this redux of the record.

Favorite tracks: “Close To You,” “Tough Love,” “That’s So True,” “Let It Happen,” “Risk,” “Felt Good About You”

I do find this album infinitely more palatable listening to it after a break from my least-liked tracks, and while I wasn’t blown away by more than one of the deluxe inclusions, I still felt like they contributed to the overall theme of the album that makes it a cohesive body of work. My main complaints circled around the inconsistency of quality in the tracks — certain songs just failed to meet the level of the album’s standouts. I find myself reaching for four to five of them often, and the rest, never. But her confidence in her voice and her skills as a songwriter have only continued to develop through this beginning of her career, and I’m pleasantly surprised to say I find myself looking forward to her next release.