SONG SPOTLIGHT: Gracie Abrams' New Single 'Risk' is a Dramatically Charming Acoustic-Pop Hit

This article is cross-posted on That Fangirl Life https://thatfangirllife.com/2024/05/gracie-abrams-new-single-risk-is-a-dramatically-charming-acoustic-pop-hit.

In 2023, Gracie Abrams released her debut LP Good Riddance, opened for over fifty shows on Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, and performed multiple legs of her own Good Riddance Tour as well as some acoustic shows with collaborator and producer Aaron Dessner. What we didn't know was that she was also writing her sophomore album, The Secret of Us, set to be released June 21 on Interscope Records.

The first taste of The Secret of Us hit streaming on May 1, with the release of Gracie's lead single from the project, "Risk." The track was teased with an acoustic performance during the European leg of the Good Riddance Tour last fall. Now, with its full-blown, acoustic-pop production perfected by none other than Aaron Dessner, "Risk" shines with overdramatic vocal desperation and get-stuck-in-your head lyrics.

Since her debut "Mean It" in 2019, Gracie Abrams has always confessed the deepest distress of her heart. But this time around she's passionate, she's reckless, and she's a little bit melodramatic. "Risk" opens with the soft, willowy acoustics and whispered vocals easily recognizable as Abrams' sound until the pre-chorus leans into the tone of running home and telling the most over-the-top romantic story to your friend, which is the narrative Gracie has voiced is the energy that describes her full sophomore project.

The chorus of "Risk" is an extravagant, cheeky delusion that a doomed relationship is undoubtedly worth the fall. Abrams' higher vocal tones echo "God, I'm actually invested/Haven't even met him/Watch this be the wrong thing/Classic!." The simple acoustic-pop production builds upon and brightens a sound defined by Abrams' own "Mess It Up" and "The Bottom," with simple vocal layering and an addictive drum-guitar coupling. Later in the track, the slight lyrical switch to "No, I'm actually invested/Haven't even met yet/Wish that I was kidding/I'm not and I hate it" charmingly depicts Gracie's building frustration with her own neurotic romantic choices.

And let me tell you this - Miss Gracie Abrams knows how to write a bridge. In juxtaposition to so many of the soft-spoken lyrics in her current discography, the bridge of "Risk" is written to be scream-sung, whether it's in your bedroom in front of a mirror, in the car driving with the windows down, or in a 70,000 capacity stadium (perhaps inspired by the success of her own "Sorry!" chant during "21" on tour?). The turbulent craving for consolation ("I'm gonna bend 'til I break/And you'll be my favorite mistake/I wish you could hold me, here shakin'/You're the risk, I'm gonna take it") builds to Abrams crying out with frustration that it's just too soon to confess her infatuation - "Too soon to tell you I love you!"

For a first glimpse into what's to come on The Secret of Us, "Risk" is the sparkling, more extroverted iteration of the candid lyricism and vibrant production that have already become a trademark of Abrams' discography. With Gracie now fully embracing her flaws and ready to quite literally risk it all, is it too soon to tell you I love this new era of Gracie Abrams?

Dua Lipa's New Album 'Radical Optimism' is a Glittering Quest for Bliss Amidst Chaos

This article is cross-posted on That Fangirl Life: https://thatfangirllife.com/2024/05/dua-lipas-radical-optimism-is-a-glittering-quest-for-bliss-amidst-chaos/.

Dua Lipa is not only one of the hottest pop stars of the current musical landscape, but a hit-making machine. A whole four years after her smash sophomore album Future Nostalgia, the anticipation for her third studio album has been intense, dramatic, and a bit chaotic. The rollout of sultry, clubby singles like "Houdini" and "Training Season," coupled with a grungey, red-tinged aesthetic, had fans enthusiastic that this was the creative and sonic direction Lipa was pursuing for her upcoming release. But Radical Optimism, released May 3 via Warner Records, was rebranded as cool and refreshing, tapping into a tropical summer aesthetic. This duality and indecision are evident in the album; the songs bounce back and forth between the dark and the light, with some shining with summery, shimmering pop and others leaning into deeper, stormier dance tracks.

Since Radical Optimism is meant to refer to “the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm,” Dua Lipa seems to be at both a personal and career crossroads, where she can’t decide if she wants to leave behind the glitz and glamour of disco-pop in exchange for the sunny bliss of Mediterranean-infused psychedelia-pop.

Despite the inescapably addictive hooks and general ear-candy of Radical Optimism, it unfortunately distinctly lacks a smash hit that has come to be synonymous with Dua Lipa's music. Ultimately, Dua’s biggest enemy in deciding Radical Optimism’s impact on her career is her past achievements. With hits like "Don't Start Now," "Levitating," "Physical," “Dance The Night,” and "New Rules" under her belt, Dua has just been too consistently good to be releasing a collection of songs as impersonal and conventional as those on Radical Optimism.

Stand-out tracks: "Houdini" "These Walls" "Happy for You"

My Favourites: "Training Season" "Whatcha Doing" "Falling Forever"

The bookends of Radical Optimism, "End of an Era" and "Happy for You" capture the loose narrative of the album, with bright, airy production and parallel stories of falling in and out of love. The album opener "End of an Era" sees Dua as a hopeless romantic: "Another girl falls in love/Another girl leaves the club/I've lost all my senses." By the conclusion of the album, "Happy for You," Dua is radiantly at peace, having blissfully moved on from her heartbreak, "I must've loved you more than I ever knew/I'm happy for you/And looking back now, I hope you see it/Even the hard parts were all for the best".

The pre-released singles "Houdini" and "Training Season" are attention-grabbers, with confident, blunt, and unrestrained demands for a lover who can "prove you got the right to please me" and who "knows just how to take control". Dua is a pop star with a resounding alto range, which shines in "Training Season" as she sings "Are you on my team?/Or stuck on the sidelines waiting for someone to tell you to go?" These are among the sharpest, punchiest tracks on the album, but their more aggressive nature does make them feel disconnected from the theming of the rest of the project as a whole.

"These Walls" is a Britpop-influenced summery bop, deceptively light-hearted for the lyrical theme of the track, where Lipa is having an epiphany that "It's not supposed to hurt this much/If these walls could talk/They'd tell us to break up." Fresh, disco-inspired "Whatcha Doing" holds the two creative aesthetics of the album together, with twinkling production, synthy pianos, and a sensational bassline. Dua dramatically throws caution into the wind with confidence as she sings, “You’re in my head and now you’re/Clouding my decisions/Got me heading for collision/Whatcha doing to me, baby?” Pre-released “Illusion” is easy-flowing dance-pop made for the summer radio waves, marking her continuing transition from one personal and sonic chapter to the next. Here Dua takes her “rose-colored glasses off” and whittles her lover down to a“red flag” as she proclaims, “I just want to dance with the illusion.” But she’s a little reckless and completely impassive with her feelings as she states, “I still like dancing with the lessons I learned.”

If Dua is going to get another hit out of Radical Optimism, thundering dance track "Falling Forever" will be it. Her incredible vocal range finally has its opportunity to stretch to its full lengths and she’s lyrically the most radically optimistic as she is across the full album, calling out “How long/Can it just keep getting better?/Can we keep falling forever?”

Held together by the mess of metamorphosis, irresistible pop production, and one of the most distinctive and dynamic voices in pop, Dua Lipa’s lighthearted search for bliss in the midst of chaos marks another solid entry into her discography, even if it’s not up to her usual standard. Radical Optimism is a carefree, glimmering pop record undoubtedly headed for commercial success, particularly as it sizzles and shines in the heat of summer pop.

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: KINDA OBSESSED

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, Taylor Swift

The clock struck 2am on release night of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT and my delusional refresh of Taylor Swift's Spotify page resulted in stunning black cover art and the words THE ANTHOLOGY flashing before my eyes. "It's a double album. IT'S A DOUBLE ALBUM!"

While the first chapter of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT leans towards tumultuous, rich synth-pop, THE ANTHOLOGY is more darkly poetic, crushingly soul-baring, and instrumentally majestic indie-alternative, with Swift's masterful skill of storytelling never shining brighter. Unlike the original album, dominantly produced by Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner leads the charge on THE ANTHOLOGY, expertly weaving layers of simple-yet-intricate instrumentation to bring Taylor's anecdotes, myths, romances, and poems to life. But much like the first installment of the album, THE ANTHOLOGY cannot be properly understood, or even inferred, after a listen or two - these are tales to be heard and deciphered for years to come until it's considered a lyrical literary classic.

Stand-out tracks: "How Did It End?" "The Prophecy" "Cassandra" "Peter"

My favorites: "The Black Dog" "So High School" "The Bolter" "The Manuscript"

Old Habits Die Screaming

Starting THE ANTHOLOGY with "The Black Dog" makes it immediately clear that these aren't just throw-away tracks, they're deep-rooted in vivid storytelling and tangible emotion that pair perfectly with the original album. The final straw of heartbreak on "The Black Dog" is Taylor's shudder of breath at the end of the lyric, "And I still can't believe it/Cause old habits die screaming."

Easily overlooked when surrounded by a work as colossal as THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, soft-spoken "I Look In People's Windows" incorporates immersive elements like hushed twitters of birds and simplistic acoustic melodies to illustrate the isolation and irrationality of searching for familiarity in the faces and behaviors of strangers. "I look in people's windows/In case you're at their table/What if your eyes looked up and met mine/One more time?" is as striking and uncertain as the feeling it's meant to depict.

I Love You, It's Ruining My Life

Coming out of "How Did It End?," "So High School" is like the "Begin Again" at the conclusion of 2012's Red - it's the glimmer of hope, the heartwarming joy of new love, the belief that all the pain can lead to something beautiful. Each little anecdotal detail illustrates that "You knew what you wanted/And, boy, you got her" in the sweetest, most starry-eyed way.

A youthful, star-crossed romance meets its fateful end in piano ballad "Peter;" there is sorrow in each repetition of the song's hook, "Said you were gonna grow up/Then you were gonna come find me." And the tragedy of the story doesn't end there: "The shelf life of those fantasies has expired/Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life/Forgive me Peter, please know that I tried."

You Don't Get to Tell Me About Sad

Weaving the mythological tale of "Cassandra" into the story of THE ANTHOLOGY, Taylor inadvertently compares herself and her professional misfortunes to the Greek prophetess who was cursed to foretell the future but never believed, ultimately resulting in irreparable destruction. "Blood's thick but nothing like a payroll/Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul/You can mark my words that I said it first/In a mourning warning no one heard." This one serves as one of the many truly literary allusions in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, solidifying its deep-rooted intellectual brilliance.

Am I Allowed to Cry?

Taylor Swift has always masterfully crafted heartbreak into her songwriting. So if THE ANTHOLOGY is considered a second album in any way, the fifth track (if you know) is "How Did It End?." This might be the most devastating track she's penned in her entire career; the piano instrumental is ghostly and the lyrical illustration of the isolating spiral in the aftermath of a separation is tragically vivid. And the bridge speaks for itself: "Say it once again with feeling/How the death rattle breathing/Silenced as the soul was leaving/The deflation of our dreaming/Leaving me bereft and reeling/My beloved ghost and me/Sitting in a tree/D-Y-I-N-G."

While the prior may be the most devastating heartbreak track we've heard from Taylor, "The Prophecy" is a different kind of sad, one that is hopeless, desperate, and begging the question "Oh, was it punishment?" There is no despair like the loss of time come and gone: "But even statues crumble if they're made to wait/I'm so afraid I sealed my fate/No sign of soulmates/I'm just a paperweight."

An ode to childhood dreams, imagination, and naivete, "Robin" (likely inspired by Dessner's daughter of the same name), is soft yet powerful, hopeful yet heartwrenching. With its childlike imagery ("You have a favorite spot on the swing set/You have no room in your dreams for regret") and resounding piano production, "Robin" is a true light amongst the dark.

The illustrious achievement that is THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY concludes with "The Manuscript." For an album that holds so much power in its words, finding a way to accurately explain why this is the most exquisite, complementary resolution to this work of art is challenging. It's intimate, it's transformative, it's quite simply poetic. After over two hours of music on the full album, Taylor concludes THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT with one final introspection:

"And at last/She knew what the agony had been for/The only thing that's left is the manuscript/One last souvenir from my trip to your shores/Now and then I re-read the manuscript/But the story isn't mine anymore."

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: FULLY OBSESSED