Gracie Abrams Reveals New Secrets
Article by Rhylee Hudson, University Union Editorial Board, Assistant Editor | Photo from Spotify
Arguably one the most popular albums of the summer was ‘The Secret of Us’ by pop singer/songwriter Gracie Abrams, and she has graced us with four new songs and three live recordings. The deluxe version of her sophomore album came out just over a month ago, on October 18th, and after sitting with it I have one opinion: the deluxe did not change my original thoughts on the album.
On the evening of June 20th, I waited for the clock to strike midnight, so that I could sit and listen to an album I was highly anticipating, and I was not disappointed. I have liked Abrams since the release of her debut EP minor in 2020, but the one work in her discography that has really stuck with me was 2023’s Good Riddance. This freshman album is arguably the best display of her lyricism (in my opinion), and it continues to hold more weight than her other projects. From start to finish, Abrams is a powerhouse, and that is what I was expecting with TSOU, and was I disappointed? A little bit. I will not lie, on first listen I was obsessed with the album as a whole, I thought it flowed well and that Taylor Swift’s feature on “us” was special (to a niche group of people). But after having the original album for almost five months and the deluxe edition for a month, I’m left wanting more.
Photo by Getty Images
The deluxe edition introduced four new tracks to the world of TSOU: "Cool," "That's So True," "I Told You Things," and "Packing It Up”–and there definitely are more. Fans are loving the new songs, as indicated by their seemingly constant virality on TikTok. While this may be a good sign to a musician, I feel like the tracks fell short of adding anything exciting or new to the album. The songs match the rest of the album well, but it seems like she didn’t take a risk with anything. In my eyes, it feels like Abrams wanted this to be her more “trendy" or “mainstream” album, something that Good Riddance wasn’t by comparison. Additionally, the production value of the deluxe tracks seems low-budget. Myself and others that I’ve seen talking about TSOU (Deluxe) have agreed that her live performances of the songs are better than the cuts on the album, which could explain her decision to release the “Live from Vevo” versions.
While the new tracks provide new perspectives on heartbreak and relationships, they don't dramatically shift the album's overall feel. For those who hoped for a transformative addition to the original release, the deluxe edition may leave them– like me–wanting more.
