Like many other Conan Gray fans, I stayed up until 12:00 a.m. on April 5 to hear Gray’s third album, “Found Heaven,” for the first time. However, the exhaustion I felt at school that day was not worth the experience, as the album was incredibly disappointing and did not live up to the standards he has set with his discography.
I must preface this article by saying that Conan Gray is my favorite artist, and his last album, “Superache,” is my favorite album of all time. However, even though my standards might be a little high, I cannot deny that my intense excitement leading up to the album’s release was all for nothing, as the album was a complete disappointment.
Gray is known for his angelic vocals, indie style and great melodies, something that was lost in this album. With “Found Heaven,” Gray attempted to experiment and stray from his traditional, ballad style, but his incorporation of elements from 1980s music was far from successful. There’s a reason everyone trashes 80s music, and Gray should have left it in the 20th century.
Gray’s attempt at replicating the style of 80s music was a huge mistake, as it took away from his talented vocals. In order to copy 80s music, Gray sang in a low, robot-like register in many of his songs, which did not sound good regardless of when it was used. For example, in his song “Lonely Dancers,” the low register he uses in the chorus makes his music sound like it belongs in a science fiction show, not the discography of an indie singer.
Many of Gray’s songs on the album also used a synthesizer as its main instrument, which I did not appreciate. It’s not a coincidence that synthesizers are rarely used anymore, as they encapsulate everything that is wrong and trashy about 80s music. The synth did nothing for Gray’s music and added to the cheesiness of the album.
It is important to highlight the positive aspects of the album, though. One of my favorite things about Gray is his hard-hitting bridges, and he did deliver a few through his songs “Alley Rose” and “Forever With Me.” Both songs contained bridges with a lot of build-up, which made them reminiscent of songs from Gray’s previous album. I also enjoyed his song “Winner,” which was released as a single prior to the album’s release.
Additionally, although I did not enjoy the 80s aspects of Gray’s album, I do have to praise him for being consistent with the theme. Almost all songs encapsulated the style of 80s music, and it is impressive that he was able to come up with 13 unique songs that all gave 80s vibes.
Overall, though I do remain a die-hard Conan Gray fan, this album was not for me. My overall message for Conan Gray is this: you are perfect just the way you are, and there is no need to change things up.
