Found Heaven: A Conan Gray ALBUM REVIEW

Posted 19.05.2024

5 April 2024 • Pop • 13 Songs • 36 Minutes • 2024 Republic Records

★★★★☆

FAV SINGLE: Alley Rose

TOP 3: Fainted Love, Alley Rose, Winner

Synth pop is back. Following his sophomore album ‘Superache’, Conan Gray released his highly anticipated 3rd Album this April. The Japanese-American singer has shifted from his previous singer/songwriter aesthetic to that of a glam pop icon, although his exceptional songwriting and storytelling abilities still shine through, most notably on tracks like ‘Alley Rose’ and ‘Winner’.

Overall, this project is very reminiscent of Queen and ABBA, with clear Bowie & Elton John influence, especially on tracks like ‘Forever with Me’ and ‘Lonely Dancers’. It’s an album of love and heartbreak, taking the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions over half an hour. Unlike his previous two, this record was not produced by Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Chappel Roan, Caroline Polachek), but instead primarily by Max Martin, who worked on, Taylor Swift’s original ‘1989’ album in 2014, The Weeknd’s ‘The Highlights’, and more recently, Ariana Grande’s new album ‘Eternal Sunshine’ - the man is a pop legend. He knows what he’s doing.

The first and lead single, Never Ending Song, set the tone for this album back in May. It’s a vibrant synthy sound, aided by energetic drums to fully showcase Conan’s lower register vocals. The record overall gives off an 80s new wave synth vibe but also sounds like it should be in a 2000s movie soundtrack. Especially with well-received tracks like ‘Bourgeoisieses’, a fun rage song with rhythmic drive and a synth bassline underneath seamless chorus vocals for added effect. Multiple layers reflect the multiple layers of society the song acknowledges, with Conan sings about the different classes of people and how he wanted to belong in a higher class when he was younger.

The piano ballad ‘Winner’ acts as a beautiful album closer, with even more stunning stacked vocals to really get the message across. Tissues are definitely needed for this one. He’s really started to return to his singer-songwriter roots whilst still managing to keep elements of this new sound such as electric guitar chords in time with the piano and dramatic drums to keep a rhythm and dramatise the song further on top of his hard-hitting, gut-wrenching lyrics.

I think overall I still prefer Superache, but this is an exceptionally well written & produced record. The experimentation has paid off greatly and Conan suits this style very well. Many male artists these days stray towards performing with a band and stick to standing with a guitar so it’s refreshing to see a gen Z male artist that isn’t afraid to dance around a big stage and have fun with their fans. Conan also has plans to go on tour across Australia, Asia, North America & Europe later this year with Support from British popstar, Maisie Peters & American alt pop duo, Between Friends. Having peaked at No. 4 on the UK album charts and No. 2 on the US Top Album sales chart, it’s obvious he’s going to be one of the next big names in pop.