Gracie Abrams’ “Good Riddance” is repetitive and lacks the details crucial to successful storytelling which makes it blend into the background of sad girl pop.
“Good Riddance,” released on Feb. 24 by Interscope Records, is Abrams’ debut album, following her 2021 EP “This Is What It Feels Like.” Despite her recent break into the music industry, Abrams is no stranger to Hollywood — her father is award-winning director J.J. Abrams.
The first half of the album is forgettable. Simple lyrics and repetitive melodies jumble the songs together. Abrams alludes to going through a breakup, but the lack of details oversimplifies the storytelling. She tries to be personal, but remains vague.
The album has a bit of a slow start and struggles to keep the attention of the audience. “Best” introduces regret, one of the album’s themes, while nodding to the album title — “You fell hard/ I thought ‘good riddance.’”
The songs seem to follow the same pattern — boring until a buildup at the bridge, succeeded by uninteresting recapitulation of what we’ve heard before
Repetition is a powerful literary device, but Abrams’ abuse of the tactic proves that she has a long way to go in terms of songwriting. This is especially evident in the chorus of “Where do we go now?” which repeats the song’s title 24 times in 4 minutes. The verses do not make up for the lacking chorus either. The bridge is easily her best performance on the song, but its lead into the final chorus is, in all honesty, quite annoying. “I should hate you” and “Will you cry” also fall victim to this songwriting cliche.
By the end of track 7 all the songs have blended together in mediocracy, but “Difficult” provides a promising turn in direction. While it is more of an upbeat piece, Abrams still tells the story of her own personal life. “Difficult” is possibly the most memorable song from the album, and it was an excellent decision to make it the lead single.
“This is what the drugs are for” follows. Its intro has a folky feel — a significant difference from what we’ve already heard from Abrams. “Fault Line” returns to the same sounds from the first half of the album but feels more polished and maturity in its songwriting.
“The blue” also repeats the same lyrics over and over again, but it stands out as the only love song on the album. As track 11, it provides the listener with hope after listening to about 40 minutes of heartbreak and self-destruction. Lyrics such as “You live in Hollywood/You’re half an hour from me” and “You say we share a brain/Apologizing for it” add more details to the story that the other tracks lack.
“Good Riddance” climaxes in its finale “Right Now.” The final track describes the emotions of moving away from family while simultaneously discovering your true self. When I heard Abrams sing the final lines of the last verse, “What if my little brother/Thinks my leavin’ was wrong?,” I was holding back tears. I was surprised at my reaction since I had felt emotionless for the majority of the album. Abrams’ combination of detailed storytelling and haunting vocals propose her potential.
“Good Riddance” is not unique in the sad girl pop subgenre. The album’s only saving graces are “Right now,” “The blue,” and “Difficult.” Abrams likely will become more popular in the upcoming months, as she is an opener to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, but if she wants to sustain success in the music industry, she needs to stand out — something she hasn’t proven yet.
2/5 Big Oles
