The Secret of Us welcomes uncertainty with open arms

Gracie Abrams is older, perhaps wiser and still brutally honest.

The singer-songwriter’s second album, released on June 21, is an open diary of all her innermost secrets, delivered in addictive melodies and lyrical poetry. Much like the daring feel of the record’s first single, “Risk,” Abrams embraces a new sound on The secret of uswhile still displaying the familiar, heartbreaking directness that originally made her famous.

“Risk” follows a delicate, gentle opening track and immediately picks up the energy and excitement of the record. Anchored by a simple, bouncy guitar melody, Abrams sings about the giddy elation that comes with the prologue to a new relationship, imagining idealistic scenarios with the other person just before a first date.

Both musically and mentally, Risk signals a change in Abrams’ attitude toward love. Her debut album, Goodbye forever (2023) was marked by melancholy, angsty ballads in which Abrams expressed the emptiness of a lost love and reflections on personal flaws in the relationship – “Because part of me wants you back, but / I know it won’t work like that,” she sings in “I know it won’t work” from her first album. “Risk,” meanwhile, is the exact opposite of that fear. The tune is poppier and faster-paced, and equal parts a showcase of her creative and technical evolution: She delivers her verses with a casual flow, taps into new levels of breath and vocal control, and belts out “You’re the risk I’m gonna take” with fierce energy in the chorus. As the drums swell and her repeated singing of “Too soon to tell you ‘I love you'” gains momentum in the outro, we feel like we’re “jumping in the deep end” with her.

The theme of embracing uncertainty runs throughout the album, and she revisits this ethos throughout the album. While “Risk” is Abrams’ decision to take a leap of faith, slower tracks like “Let It Happen” are her plea that even if she made the wrong decision, the tragedy will have been worth her time.

In many ways, The secret of us feels like the hopeful, optimistic and braver sister of Goodbye forever. While the cover of the latter features a blurry black and white image, the cover of the former is bright and yellow; a lyrical and musical change of tone is reflected in the vibrancy of the new record.

“Blowing Smoke” continues the brisk, sharp tones of “Risk,” an equally catchy tune infused with the signature sound of Abrams’ acoustic guitar and carried by a repeating series of major chords. She ruminates on the satisfaction of being the stronger one while watching from afar as an ex-lover embarrasses himself by moving on from one new girl to the next. Her insults are wrapped in elaborate metaphors, she calls them predictable and superficial with class, and ends with the amusement that “I know everything they don’t know.”

Abrams hasn’t completely abandoned her ballad roots, however: she most consciously revisits them in “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” a direct parallel to “I miss you, I’m sorry,” the breakthrough track from her debut EP. irrelevant (2020). Four years later, Abrams is no longer able to move on, but deeply aware of her own role in its demise. We’re treated to one of the most heartbreaking bridges she’s ever written: “As sick as it sounds, I loved you first / I was an asshole, it is what it is,” she laments, repeating the second half of each line with harmonies for an extra emotional punch.

Many have dubbed Abrams the lyrical daughter of Taylor Swift due to her skill at writing bridges, a craft Swift has mastered in every genre. And so, to fans’ imploding excitement, the famous architect is fittingly featured on “us. (feat. Taylor Swift).” It’s the album’s only collaborative track and Swift’s first feature since “Gasoline” with HAIM in 2021. “us.” tells a story of regret and longing for what once was, and while the chorus borders on the wailing, which some may find too whiny, it’s unsurprisingly the bridge where the track really shines and Swift’s influence is evident (who else could have written “Robert Bly on my nightstand” and “hearse or an oracle?”). The duo belt out the above lines in perfect harmony and with resounding emotion, tugging on heartstrings we didn’t know we could feel.

The secret of us may mark the evolution of Abrams’ sound, but the themes she explores remain the same. Crucially, Abrams has embraced music as a way to feel comfortable with vulnerability and publicly reflects on her relationship history, but not her entire discography revolves around romance—a perception often unfairly attributed to many female artists (including Swift) who autobiograph their love lives, even though many of her male counterparts do the same, if not more explicitly and shamelessly.

Just like “Feels Like” from This is how it feels (2021) is an ode to platonic love, “Tough Love” celebrates the beauty of female friendship. She leaves memories of past dates behind, knowing that “none of them are tougher than all my girlfriends.” For Abrams, the preciousness of girlhood can’t be compared to what an affair might bring, and it’s an endearing sentiment after several songs about failed romances.

With “Close To You”, the last track on the record, the circle closes. Abrams wrote the song in 2018 and initially discarded it, but revived the track seven years later after fans declared their undying love for the demo. While the lyrics embody a similar boldness to earlier tracks on the album, there is a hint of naivety in this last one: Abrams’ willingness to sacrifice everything to be close to a potential lover reflects the age she was when the song was first written.

Abrams has always treated her projects like musical diaries, and The secret of us is no different. Each track is a reflection of how her attitudes and experiences have changed over time, and this sophomore album manages to perfectly capture both Abrams’ transformation as a person and as a musician. For those of us who have reached milestones at times that coincide with each Gracie Abrams release, we feel as if we’re growing up right along with her. Her unfiltered honesty is what makes each tune painfully relatable, and we can only hope she sticks around so we can continue to experience all the good, bad, and messy nuances on the next record.

Voices Choices: “Risk”, “Blow out the smoke”, “Let it happen”