| Good Riddance | |
| Cover: | Gracie Abrams - Good Riddance.png |
| Alt: | A black and white photograph of a woman in a tank top |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Gracie Abrams |
| Released: | February 24, 2023 |
| Studio: | Long Pond (Hudson Valley) |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 52:24 |
| Label: | Interscope |
| Producer: | Aaron Dessner |
| Prev Title: | This Is What It Feels Like |
| Prev Year: | 2021 |
| Next Title: | The Secret of Us |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
Good Riddance is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. It was released on February 24, 2023, through Interscope Records. After the release of two successful EPs, Abrams began recording Good Riddance at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio in Hudson Valley, New York across a 25-day period. The album was produced by Dessner and written by both Abrams and Dessner. The producer Matias Tellez provided additional production on the tracks "I Know It Won't Work" and "Where Do We Go Now?" and the musician Brian Eno co-wrote and co-produced the closing track "Right Now". A deluxe edition of the album with four bonus tracks was released on June 16, 2023.
Good Riddance is primarily a pop album with whispered vocals and pulls from a moody and electronic sonic palette. Following themes of guilt, heartbreak, self-identity, personal accountability, and coming of age, the album is written about friendships, family, and Abrams' breakup with Blake Slatkin. The album was promoted by four singles and the Good Riddance Tour across North America, Europe, and Australia. Critics gave the album generally favorable reviews, praising Abrams' confessional songwriting but felt mixed about Dessner's production. It moderately entered the Billboard 200 and several publications featured it on their year-end lists.
Gracie Abrams was interested in journaling and playing the piano since age eight.[1] [2] Though she thought she'd never consider performing music professionally, Abrams released her debut EP Minor in 2020,[3] followed by This Is What It Feels Like in 2021.[4] The EPs helped gain Abrams attention from high-profile musicians such as Billie Eilish, Lorde, Olivia Rodrigo,[5] and Phoebe Bridgers. Minor inspired Rodrigo's Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "Drivers License" (2021). They also received critical acclaim,[6] [7] [8] allowing This Is What It Feels Like to place sixth on Coup de Main
When writing Good Riddance, Abrams practiced on being more accountable and a better partner in future relationships.[13] Abrams enlisted returning collaborator Aaron Dessner of the National as the album's producer and co-writer. The album was recorded at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in Hudson Valley, New York.[14] Abrams would often work 12-hour days and would write up to two songs a day while staying with Dessner and his family at Long Pond.[15] Abrams had recently gone through a breakup with the producer Blake Slatkin during the early stages of writing the album and felt insecure when writing about the breakup. Dessner convinced Abrams to move forward with writing and recording the songs, telling her that "holding space for brutal honesty in songwriting is kind of the whole point". The two would often have "long and honest conversations about love, life, and everything in between."
Abrams had been a fan of the National since age 12. Abrams was introduced to Dessner through the lawyer they share during 2019 because the lawyer felt that Abrams and Dessner would get along.[16] Early development of Good Riddance started when Dessner invited Abrams to record at Long Pond during spring 2021, making ten songs. Over the course of two years, Abrams would visit Long Pond for five or 10 days at a time to work with Dessner. They both got to the "core" of Good Riddance during spring 2022. When working with Dessner, she said that she didn't "feel remotely filtered in any capacity".[17] She had felt lucky to be able to evolve without Slatkin, a former collaborator of Abrams, and that "with Aaron, [she] felt safe to figure out [her] sound alone" when writing Good Riddance. Abrams felt that recording in Long Pond had a sense of familiarity, was isolated from distractions, and was more inspiring and comfortable compared to recording in Los Angeles.[18] She also said that Dessner has the ability to make people "feel safe to explore the most raw parts of themselves."[19] The album was recorded in around 25 days.
Abrams wrote the lyrics to the song "Amelie" in a journal entry a long time before recording the song. It was recorded in one take as Dessner recorded the guitar while Abrams sang the lyrics. Abrams felt that the natural feeling and trust between herself and Dessner while recording showed in the song. She named the songs "I Know It Won't Work", "Best", and "Fault Line" as the most difficult to write. All of the songs were written quickly, and she said "The ease at which a lot of the words came out was the painful part". Abrams was worried about how the album's songs would be received, as she did not want someone to think a song was written about them when it was not. The producer Matias Tellez provided additional production on the tracks "I Know It Won't Work" and "Where Do We Go Now?" and the musician Brian Eno co-produced the closing track "Right Now". Abrams finished her contributions to the album on September 7, 2022.
The standard edition of Good Riddance includes 12 tracks; the deluxe edition contains four additional tracks. The album predominantly has a pop sound, with an influence of indie rock. Isabella Miller of Clash said that the album has elements of "alternative folk blended with playful electronics." Jane Bua of Pitchfork classified the album as "whisperpop" while Miller labelled the album as "sad girl pop". Miller also wrote that "there's an evident shift in the direction of [Abrams'] sound" and attributed it to either Dessner's production or "a deliberate choice from Abrams". The Forty-Five
Good Riddance is written about Abrams' breakup with Slatkin,[20] friendships, and family.[21] The album presents Abrams' distinctive whispered vocals addressing themes of guilt, heartbreak, self-identity, personal accountability, and coming of age.[22] [23] Martyn Young of Dork wrote that the tracks "begin delicately before swelling to quietly epic proportions." Saloni Gajjar of The A.V. Club called the album "soft and quiet, but also soothing and heartbreaking at the same time".[24] Dork wrote that the album takes you on "a journey through a spectrum of emotions" and that "each song blossoms from a whisper to a crescendo, encapsulating the most simple yet resonant feelings."[25] Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone described the album's melodies as "soft-spoken" and "simple" and are "steeped in sadness but still pack a punch."[26] Critics universally called Abrams' songwriting confessional.
The album's opening track, "Best", analyzes Abrams' misgivings in a relationship and takes responsibility for them. The second track, "I Know It Won't Work", is an indie rock song about "breaking off a relationship with a partner who won’t go easily", as described by Lam.[27] She also described the production in "Full Machine" as consisting of "cool, moody textures" and that the track is "a thoughtful and revelatory exploration of the relationships by which we define our lives and what happens to them when we change." "Where Do We Go Now?" contains "swooning" strings, synthesizers, and repeated loops of the title. The song is about Abrams hurting somebody she loves and being unsure of what to do next. Lyndsey Havens of Billboard commented that "the song eventually becomes less about the status of her relationship to another person and more about the status of anyone’s relationship with the world around them."[28] The following "I Should Hate You" discusses the "complex position of wanting to hate someone she still loves" as the "dejected" and "intensifying" pop track plays out.[29] "Will You Cry?" further alludes to Abrams' breakup with Slatkin, examining her mental health, family and friends, and the sorrows of going through your early 20s. It admits the fact that there is nothing left in the relationship and that if she doesn't end the relationship, she would lose herself.[30]
For Pitchfork, Bua described "Amelie" as "bewitching" and commented that it "captures a sense of aching beauty that stands out amongst the album’s more passive moments" atop a finger-picked acoustic guitar and dim piano notes. She also proposed the idea that " 'Amelie' could be anyone: a past lover, a lost childhood friend, an alter ego." Hannah Dailey of Billboard called it "a tender love letter to the ways a stranger can permanently alter our lives without realizing." Its lyrics question whether Amelie is a real person or if Abrams' memory is playing tricks on her. The theme of guilt is again explored on the high-energy and upbeat "Difficult".[31] Will Schube of uDiscover Music wrote that the track contains beats from a drum machine, a "delicate" piano, "crystalline" textures, and a "soaring" chorus as Abrams discusses the "claustrophobia that comes with being unable to escape your own thoughts and possibly destructive patterns". It explores feelings like losing friends, going to therapy, and the guilt of moving away from home alongside the following "This Is What the Drugs Are For".[32] The track recalls Abrams' use of drugs to numb the pain of the memories of her past relationship. Gajjar called it evocative. "Fault Line" acknowledges the faults of her ex-partner. It also reveals that Abrams had recovered from their breakup. The penultimate "The Blue" marks a turning point in the album's theme, focusing on a new love after Abrams recovered from her ex-partner. While the earlier tracks have more dejected themes, the track is hopeful and optimistic. The album's final track, "Right Now", reflects on the difficulty of life and leaving the past behind atop simplistic production that is powered by droning synthesizers.
See also: Good Riddance Tour.
The lead single to Good Riddance, "Difficult", was released on October 7, 2022. Abrams announced the album on January 9, 2023, alongside the announcement of the North American leg of the Good Riddance Tour, which she began on March 7.[33] [34] She released the second single "Where Do We Go Now?" on January 13, which was accompanied by a music video directed by Gia Coppola.[35] [36] The album's third single "Amelie" released on February 10.[37] The deluxe edition of Good Riddance was announced on April 24, 2023, and released on June 16. It added four bonus tracks, including "Block Me Out", which was released as a single on April 8, 2022.[38] On August 15, 2023, she announced Australian dates of the Good Riddance Tour, which began on January 15, 2024.[39] During September 2023, she performed the Good Riddance Acoustic Shows across North America with Dessner.[40] She also embarked on the European leg of the Good Riddance Tour throughout September and October 2023.[41]
Upon its release, Good Riddance received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 73 based on six reviews. The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Writing for Dork, Martyn Young felt the album had "incredible depth" and "possesses an atmosphere and charm all of its own", calling it an "emotional rollercoaster". The Line of Best Fit
Numerous reviewers singled out Abrams' songwriting for praise. Young called it "a masterclass in intimate and evocative songwriting" and "very special". Mylrea wrote that Abrams "has a knack for storytelling" and that her songwriting makes her music shine. Clash
Critics had mixed opinions regarding Dessner's production. Muller wished that Abrams pushed the production further and thought it needed more variety. Bua called the production unadventurous and thought it made the record feel stagnant. Ravenscroft called the production predictable and generic: "The listener is almost sure to be greeted by a synth beat or an acoustic guitar". Mylrea highlighted Dessner's distinctive touch on the tracks and thought that his production added a new depth to Abrams' sound. Young called the production sympathetic. Solomon described the production as low-key. Lin opined that Dessner's production illuminated "an especially delicate side of Abrams' confessional songwriting".
| List | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The A.V. Club | The 27 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| The 100 Best Songs of 2023 "Where Do We Go Now?" | |||
| Dork | Top 50 Albums of 2023 | ||
| Esquire | The 20 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Hot Press | 50 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Rolling Stone | The 100 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Shondaland | The 10 Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| The Spokesman-Review | Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Uproxx | The Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| USC Annenberg Press | The Best Albums of 2023 | ||
| Variety | The Best Songs of 2023 "Amelie" | ||
Notes
| Peak position | |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)[45] | 29 |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[46] | 40 |
| Position | ||
| UK Cassette Albums (OCC)[47] | 15 |
|---|
| Date | Format(s) | Edition | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | February 24, 2023 | Standard | Interscope | [48] | |
| June 16, 2023 | Deluxe |