Annabelle Ross
Gracie Abrams, Daughter from Hell
★★
Having Taylor Swift as a mentor can be a double-edged sword – just ask Olivia Rodrigoit seems they are still at loggerheads with the billionaire following a heated dispute over songwriting credits. You couldn’t ask more exposure than opening to Swift, as Abrams did in Age tour in the United States. At the same time, the proximity of such obvious influence reinforces the impression that Abrams – unlike Rodrigo – has not yet established his own unique voice.
Where was it? bite a little in 2024 Our Secret (written by Abrams’ hot girlfriend Audrey Hobert, now a rising star himself), Abrams’ third album Daughter from Hell looks warm and toothless (his only collaboration with Hobert, A small baris external). Sixteen songs is a must-see for your average listener these days. On an acoustic folk album with little tonal variation, it feels like a dirge.
Since his album-length EP was released in 2021, Abrams has worked closely with The National’s Aaron Dessner, who has also produced songs for Mumford & Sons, Noah Kahan, and extensively Taylor Swift (most notably in 2020). Wheat)
At this point, Dessner’s signature palette — muted vocals, fingerpicking guitars, soft piano — feels like a background template, the personalities of his clients obscured and buried under a shroud of autumnal textures.
Two of his favorite collaborators, both of whom have collaborated with Abrams in the past, appear on this album and add quite a bit. Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, sings You broke my heart and Humming and Marcus Mumford plays Abrams on twee What If is OKall the buttons are restrained in different shades of beige.
Heavy with reverb-laden guitars, the title track at least sounds important but doesn’t reveal much more than its title promises. If the young Abrams was “cruel” to his parents, as suggested in the interview, there are no amazing stories of depravity that equate to a lovely respect for his mother.
To some extent, given the “nepo baby” accusations that have plagued Abrams from the start (his father is filmmaker JJ Abrams, his mother is TV executive Katie McGrath), Humming refers to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires that disproportionately affected wealthy celebrities. “Every kid I grew up with has lost their childhood home,” Abrams sings. “Do you stay numb? But you can’t see how they all get away from our grief.”
Turn on Watch My Life (a slightly peppier song co-produced with Rodrigo’s magic executive producer, Dan Nigro), further challenges preconceived notions about his glamorous life, admitting that “it’s kind of a bad time.”
Bias aside, Abrams is convincing when he sings, “I got what I wanted, it just ain’t right,” time. Hit the wall reveals even more extreme anger, describing “a room full of doctors and an inkwell” and warning that “sooner or later you’ll find out/I’m living in a troubled setting”.
Most interesting is the title track Death Wish. If you’d like to have the idea that Abrams and Swift might have a rift of their own (Abrams’ recent Instagram post showing a selfie from Swift’s wedding and Swift’s ex Joe Alwyn in the carousel of the same photo has slammed Swifties), his lyrics might bolster that theory.
Abrams’ musical career began on Instagram, where raw acoustic versions of his early songs were praised by stars including Swift, Lorde, Rodrigo and Phoebe Bridgers. She sings well, plays the piano and guitar, and has a great sense of touch.
But Daughter from Hell it sounds more like a Nicholas Sparks remake than a bold artistic statement, an obscure indie-confessional voice in an environment full of beautiful-voiced female singers.
Three albums in, Abrams’ distinction feels increasingly clear.
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