Singer-songwriter succumbs to a crush on 鈥淩isk,鈥� the lead single of her frantic and melancholic sophomore album, 鈥淭he Secret of Us.鈥�
鈥淗eard the risk is drowning / But I鈥檓 gonna take it,鈥� she sings atop fast acoustic guitar, her vocals growing more frenetic as the production thickens. 鈥淲atch this be the wrong thing,鈥� she exclaims in the chorus.
The track reveals an evolved, but familiar, Abrams. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter has but 鈥淭he Secret of Us鈥� is more intimate and less reserved than her previous work. This time, her songs aren鈥檛 recollections of waning heartbreak, long held insecurity or lingering guilt. They鈥檙e happening in real time, developing and dissipating on record.
That immersion is achieved through the album鈥檚 production, a collaboration between Abrams, her longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner and co-writer Audrey Hobert, with cameos from and producer Jack Antonoff.
The great 鈥淏lowing Smoke鈥� sets a biting critique of a lost flame to acoustic guitar and hums that are traded for electric instruments and shouts, as Abrams鈥� quips lean into frustration.
She belts on 鈥淟et it Happen,鈥� where 鈥淭ough Love鈥� starts with whispers on a train to Boston and ends with a euphoric drum beat and declaration of self-love: 鈥淚 know now what I鈥檓 leaving for.鈥�
Bonus track 鈥淐lose to You,鈥� produced by Sam de Jong and reworked after a clip of it went viral, lives more in the magnetic world of Lorde and Ellie Goulding鈥檚 2010s hits than it does in Abrams鈥� own 鈥� but showcases a pop persona that peeks through on 鈥淭he Secret of Us.鈥�
The urgent melodies and breathless bridges on this confident album are progressed from Abrams鈥� past work 鈥� when her writerly, soft-sung, 鈥渟ad girl鈥� pop music was much more wistful and anxious.
The tracks that exemplify her new personality most clearly 鈥� 鈥淩isk,鈥� 鈥淏lowing Smoke,鈥� 鈥渦s. (feat. Taylor Swift)鈥� 鈥� are the album鈥檚 most interesting. It鈥檚 a shift that Abrams to the period of growth between her last project and this one. That year and a half included and extensive touring on her own and opening for Swift.
The album鈥檚 sparkling centerpiece is 鈥渦s. (feat. Taylor Swift).鈥� Their voices weave together, harmonizing the album鈥檚 title atop a dreamy acoustic track produced by the duo, Dessner and Antonoff: 鈥淚 felt it, you held it, do you miss us, us? / Wonder if you regret the secret of us,鈥� they sing, with Abrams leading.
The feature from Swift feels like a stamp of approval for Abrams. And while references to annotated sonnets and Robert Bly could place this track within Swift鈥檚 it is recognizably Abrams in its youthful and thoughtful angst 鈥� as well as those private reflections on unrequited love.
鈥淭he Secret of Us,鈥� paints a picture of an artist in motion, one who is discovering what excites her creatively as she navigates young adulthood. And by taking listeners along for that ride 鈥� the frustrations, vanities, chaotic crushes and all 鈥� she opens an exciting door for her future as an assured and energetic performer.
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AP music reviews:
Elise Ryan, The Associated Press
