The Secret of Us [Yellow]

Over the last four years, Gracie Abrams has skyrocketed to the top of every sad girl summer playlist.

Her EP This Is What It Feels Like and last year’s debut album Good Riddance helped put her on the map while laying the groundwork for a fruitful collaborative relationship with Aaron Dessner. After a summer spent opening for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and notching a Best New Artist Grammy nomination on her belt, Abrams’ songwriting is more evocative and grown up than ever, as heard on sophomore album The Secret of Us.

The folky-pop LP is a proper showcase of Abrams’ songwriting, sharpening up some of the clichés and adolescent metaphors from her debut. The songs are a complex picture of a relationship gone sour, full of heartbreak songs that capture the messiness of dating in your early twenties. Alongside Dessner, Abrams co-wrote several of the songs with her best friend Audrey Hobert. Many of the lyrics feel as much like an open letter to an ex as it does a text relaying your deepest, darkest secrets to your closest confidant in the middle of a sleepless night.

— Rolling Stone