The sophomore album from Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us embodies all the breathless urgency of spilling your heart out to your closest friend at the end of a whirlwind night. “Most of these songs came from reacting to the experience of being 24, and to all the highs and lows of unrequited love and new relationships (or the lack thereof),” says the Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter. “There was something within that drama that felt so fun to explore and sometimes laugh at, even in the face of total disappointment.” Co-produced by Abrams and her longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner of The National, The Secret of Us ultimately brings a bold new effervescence to her songwriting—and, in turn, invites the listener to fully delight in their own most chaotic emotions.
Created soon after Abrams took the stage at stadiums all across the country as support for Taylor Swift’s blockbuster era tour, The Secret of Us marks her first time taking a hands-on role in the production process—a natural progression for a DIY-minded artist who got her start self-recording songs in her bedroom as a teenager. While the album expands on the finespun lyricism that defined her debut LP Good Riddance (a 2023 release lauded by Rolling Stone for “show[ing] a serious command of autobiographical songwriting”), each song bears a potent yet playful energy thanks in large part to her production choices, including plenty of punchy guitar parts and lavish vocal layering (achieved with the help of her longtime friend Audrey Hobert). “Making this album felt fun in a way I hadn’t experienced since I was really young,” says Abrams, who enlisted Hobert and Dessner as her sole co-writers on The Secret of Us. “I think that has a lot to do with writing so many songs with my best friend, and making sure to accurately score this moment in our lives.”
Mainly recorded at Long Pond Studio (the Hudson Valley homebase for Dessner, whose production discography also includes his Grammy-winning work on Taylor Swift’s folklore), The Secret of Us first took shape with the writing of “Risk”: a bubbly but incisive track that perfectly encapsulates the album’s spirit of reckless exuberance (from the chorus: “God, I’m jumping in the deep end/It’s more fun to swim in/Heard the risk is drowning/But I’m gonna take it”). “I remember feeling so energized when Audrey and I wrote ‘Risk,’” Abrams recalls. “It was this magical mix of self-awareness and slight delusion, which became a sort of touchstone for the whole album. The two of us live together as well, so after that we fell into a pattern where we’d wake up and start working on songs just because it felt so fun to write about our lives in real time.”
Although The Secret of Us sustains the self-contained minimalism Abrams has embraced since her acclaimed debut project minor, its songs encompass a depth of sonic detail beautifully suited to the album’s wildly shifting moods. To that end, “Blowing Smoke” muses on the thrill and frustration of unmet longing, setting her inner narrative to a backdrop of dreamy synth, moody sub bass, and mercurial guitar work (including her own contributions on acoustic guitar and a gorgeously frenetic performance from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon). “I wrote ‘Blowing Smoke’ thinking about the very specific headspace that accompanies unrequited love, and how the tiniest little things can propel you into such extreme modes of thinking,” Abrams points out.
On “Tough Love,” driving rhythms and shapeshifting textures merge with Abrams’ rapid-fire but indelibly lived-in storytelling (from the second verse: “I’m wasted with the sister of a boy that I met/Through someone back in college/She’s a weird intellect/She liked to tell the truth and she was harsh but direct/Her boyfriends all left/She had that effect”). “I took a trip from New York to Boston and had that feeling I always get on a train ride to somewhere familiar, where it’s like I’m seeing every version of myself that’s ever been on that train before,” she says of the song’s origins. “I was asking myself questions like, ‘Where am I in my life right now, where am I going next?’, and it turned into a song about honoring your friendship with your girls and maybe also laughing at the guys.” Meanwhile, on the long-awaited “Close To You,” Abrams offers up a gloriously beat-driven and dance-ready anthem that speaks to the way obsession consumes us on a nearly cellular level. “After seven years of sitting with the ‘Close To You’ demo, it finally felt right to rework and include on this album,” Abrams reveals. “I’m really grateful for the encouragement from everyone online who let me know they still want to hear song after all this time—it makes me want to dance with them, and I can’t wait till we get to do that.”
Despite its often exhilarated tone, The Secret of Us also explores everything from the pain of self-denial (on the pensive “Gave You I, Gave You I”) to the ache of life-changing loss (on “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” featuring a stunning string section from Grammy-winning composer Rob Moose). “It’s about looking to the future of a relationship that’s ended, and feeling an appreciation for that person’s ability to see me through my bad habits,” says Abrams of the latter. With its abundance of unforgettable hooks and sing-along-ready melodies, the album was deeply informed by her turn in opening for Taylor Swift (who recently told Rolling Stone that “Gracie’s writing mixes fragility with introspection in a way that I really relate to”). “Watching Taylor fill those huge spaces absolutely broadened my imagination and challenged me to come up with lyrics that would inspire people to scream along with full-body enthusiasm,” notes Abrams, who’s also toured with Olivia Rodrigo, opened for Phoebe Bridgers, and sold out headline shows throughout the U.S. and Europe.
As she reflects on the making of The Secret of Us, Abrams notes that the experience provided a rush not unlike the romantic infatuation that inspired so much of her songwriting. “The way I fell in love with the process had that same butterfly sensation as having a massive crush on someone,” she says. “With Good Riddance Aaron had created a space for me to learn about myself and really trust my instincts, and on this album that evolved into working in a way that felt so fluid and so fun at the same time. I’ve been searching for that kind of flow for a long time, and now it’s the only way I can ever imagine working for the rest of my life.”
