The Tartan

By Sofia Johnson

In August, Reneé Rapp released her strikingly honest, powerful, and catchy debut album “Snow Angel.” If you were a high school theater nerd like me, you may know Rapp from her iconic Jimmy Awards Performance, or her role as Regina George in “Mean Girls” on Broadway. If you were popular in high school (what was that like?), perhaps you’ve seen Rapp in the show “The Sex Lives of College Girls” or in the recent “Mean Girls” movie, where she returned to her role as Regina George. Now, Rapp is beloved to many as a queer icon and rising pop star. 

Rapp’s album “Snow Angel” is a testament to her vocal skills and her ability to effortlessly meld musical genres in her songwriting. In 12 songs, she covers such a wide range of emotions and experiences that I genuinely believe there is something for everyone in this album (both thematically and stylistically). Here are my reviews of each individual track:

“Talk Too Much”

Reneé Rapp starts off with nothing short of a banger. As someone who also talks too much, this is one of my favorite songs on the album. It has a main character energy that makes me feel like wearing cool sunglasses and walking in slow motion, even though I may just be commuting to my 9:30 a.m. class. The main reason I love this song is the loud, messy rock style of the choruses, both in the vocals and in the instrumentals. The monologues in the middle of songs are so much fun, and this one may be my absolute favorite in the history of mid-song monologues. Rapp’s brutally honest rambling perfectly embodies her humor and relatability, and makes this song stand out.

“I Hate Boston”

This is the song referenced on Rapp’s iconic billboard (genius marketing, by the way), and it is also our first ballad of the album. I feel like we’re getting a lot of her powerful musical-theater-style emotion coming through in a non-musical-theater context, which is both fun to listen to and appropriate for the song’s emotional message. Listening to this song, I get through the second verse and wish there was something more happening with the vocals and instrumentals, and then BAM, we get a build in the second chorus and a rock-ballad ending. This is a scream-in-the-rain song, and I love it.

“Poison Poison”

If I had three wishes, I would use all three to know who this song is about. There is so much anger in this song, but it’s presented in a very sparkly, pop princess way, which is a girlboss move by Rapp. The lyrics aren’t the best in the album, but in a song expressing this level of annoyance and frustration, I wouldn’t expect — or want — any songwriter to write something Pulitzer-Prize-level. The bass-boosted bridge contributes to the song’s angry tone, and also throws some stylistic texture into the otherwise very typical-pop-style song. While it’s not a song I search for, it’s super catchy and fun to listen to.

“Gemini Moon”

The verses of this song have such a beautiful, haunting feeling to them, both lyrically and in their sound. The choruses have a more traditional acoustic sound, which is still beautiful, but it makes the verses tonally overshadow the choruses. The transitions between these two styles aren’t as smooth as I’d like them to be, and feel a little jarring at first. Overall, I wish the haunting tone had carried through the whole song. This is the one song on the album that I wish was longer. There could have been an amazing bridge or instrumental break that would have tied the song together well. Regardless, I think this song is incredibly powerful. It crescendos well from beginning to end, and has great juxtaposition between its loud and soft moments. 

“Snow Angel”

This is the titular track of the album and, in my opinion, the strongest lyrically. It starts soft, then steadily transforms into a gorgeous, powerful ballad. The contrasting of the soft start with the later moments of messy rock vocals and instrumentals portray the intense emotion behind the song and its subject matter. This song in particular shows off Rapp’s Broadway origins, as shown through her emotional storytelling and her stellar diction while mixing and belting incredibly high notes. Also, the build into the bridge is absolutely WILD. Wow.

“So What Now”

I like this song. However, it was a terrible idea to put this song after “Snow Angel.” This placement makes “So What Now” seem lyrically and musically weak, despite it being a great song on its own. This song has a chill vibe that feels different from everything we’ve listened to on this album. It’s a beach song. However, I’m from Minnesota and therefore feel like I can’t fully appreciate this song’s sound. The lyrics at the end of the song aren’t my favorite, but I think they sum up the song’s narrative well. Also, any weirdness within these lyrics is immediately hidden by Rapp’s amazing vocal agility.

“The Wedding Song”

While this is by no means a bad song, the others on the album are so good that it’s one of my least favorites. It’s very similar to “Gemini Moon” in its haunting verses and acoustic chorus, but “Gemini Moon” does everything slightly better. Despite this, the emotion and intensity in Rapp’s vocals are palpable, and I love that we get to hear her alto range featured in this song. The bridge has a really cool 2000’s movie breakup scene sound that I wish extended throughout the whole song. While listening to this album, I’ve learned that Rapp loves a soft verse and a powerful chorus, and I’m OBSESSED with it.

“Pretty Girls”

This is a song about an aspect of the queer experience that I feel like people don’t talk about. It discusses this experience candidly while also being a bop. It has a very unique sound, with ballad-style verses but a classic pop chorus. Speaking of choruses, I love this one. It’s enough to make me play the entire song on repeat. This song also has such a main-character-driving-at-night energy, which makes it super fun to listen to.

“Tummy Hurts”

This song has a very soul-filled, R&B-inspired sound, which — like “Pretty Girls” — gives it a unique sound within the album. This is another super catchy song. The bass is featured in a way that, as a novice bassist myself, makes my heart flutter. It has its own melody that adds depth to the song and contributes to its chill tone. (Note to musicians: PLEASE start adding more cool basslines to your songs.) My only complaint is that the lyrics aren’t super strong, which reduces the song’s emotion.

“I Wish”

Ouch. This is one of those songs that is so sad it makes your heart hurt. The emotion in Rapp’s voice is absolutely heartbreaking, and the sweeping, wistful instrumentals add to the song’s sad tone so well. This song is a perfect example of musical storytelling. It conveys its message in an understandable way, while still maintaining high levels of emotion through poetic lyrics and powerful vocals. This is probably my favorite chorus in the album. It’s gorgeous. I especially love the renewed power of the last chorus, which ends the song in a really beautiful, emotional way.

“Willow”

I don’t really like this song. It feels forgettable in the midst of all the other amazing tracks on the album. While listening, I was waiting for a crescendo that never happened. It also ends with a rock-style guitar moment, which normally I’d love, but it feels very out of place. However, the song has a really cool vibe that makes me want to love it so badly.

“23”

Once again, I love that we’re hearing some of Rapp’s alto range. This song has pretty strong lyrics, and I feel like 22- and 23-year-olds would love it (I’ll let you know how I feel about it in a few years). Even as a 19-year-old, I really like this song. It has a beautiful, simple sound that allows the song’s story to shine through. I can see why she ended the album with this, as it sums up the narratives of each preceding song well.

Overall, I love this album. My favorites (in no particular order) are “Talk Too Much,” “Gemini Moon,” “Snow Angel,” and “I Wish.” Rapp’s vocals, combined with the songs’ beautiful lyrics and instrumentals, make for a no-skip album.