Gracie Abrams "Daughter from Hell" Album Review
Magda Kanecka & Sanne Boere | July 2026
Following the success of “The Secret of Us” (2023) and its Deluxe version (2024) with tracks such as “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry”, both hitting over a billion Spotify streams each, Gracie Abrams is back!
The singer-songwriter has been teasing music since nearly right after the release of her last full-length album, so it is safe to say she’s been keeping her fans engaged within the recording process – frequently posting small snippets or photos from the studio on her Instagram.
Released via Interscope Records, co-written and co-produced by Gracie Abrams and Aaron Dessner (whose other past collaborators have included Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Noah Kahan), “Daughter from Hell” hits close to home for both her core fanbase and casual listeners alike.
Magda:
Track 1: “Hit the Wall”
The lead single of Abrams’ newest album, released on May 14 this year, takes us on a journey of self-reflection and accountability, painting a picture of a person reaching a point in their life where they feel stuck while everything else around them keeps moving.
The bridge of the song captures this especially well, with self-deprecating lyrics such as “Sooner or later, you’ll find out / I live in a pattern of breakdowns / You’ll bend to my silence, it’s so loud / And then you’ll lose me to the crowd”.
The instrumental is almost dreamy with softer synths throughout, and there isn’t a set explosive element, which is not at all a bad thing in context! The track lingers at a set low-tempo pace, but the standout is in the emotional vocals that Gracie is known for.
In my eyes, this is still one of the strongest songs on this album, both instrumentally and lyrically, and it was a great introduction to this album cycle.
Track 2: “Death Wish”
With an electronic opening progressing to acoustic notes, “Death Wish” looks into the future in a pessimistic way: as if Abrams was asking, how long until something begins to break down?
The highlight of the song for me is the chorus, which notably questions a person’s commitment to another person. The vocals remain calm – unlike the lyrics, which seek to hold the person in question accountable for their wrongdoings or lack of communication.
Gracie first played the track as an unreleased surprise song on the London stop of her The Secret of Us Tour, on March 2, 2025. Abrams described the song as a tribute to a friend of hers, who was, in her words, “dating a mega narcissist” at the time.
Looking at the lyrics of the studio version, that description still fits, particularly in lines such as “Your eggshell floor is splintering now” – referencing the idiomatic expression ‘to walk on eggshells [around someone]’.
Track 3: “The Knife”
Track three sets the tone with piano notes and embarks with intentional pauses after each verse and chorus to allow the listener to pay attention to the instrumental.
This song is my favourite on this album for the way it can be interpreted to mean something different for each listener; the ‘knife’ can be whatever event you went through that hurt you – whether a breakup, an argument, or even a death – and learning to live through its hardships while you’re still healing from it.
There is, however, a set of lyrics that stood out to me the most – in the chorus, Gracoe sings: “And then I’ll let go of my mind / Shifting my weight over the cliff side / Taking my chances, rolling the dice / This should be the last time”, and in my eyes, these will hit particularly close to home for anyone who has suffered with depression.
Music has a beautiful way of making people feel seen within their struggles, and “The Knife” does this exceptionally well in its ability to adapt to different life experiences.
Track 4: “Daughter from Hell”
The emotional note of the previous song gently progresses the listener onto the title track of the release: “Daughter from Hell”, with a guitar and bass-led intro that repeats throughout its four-minute duration – almost reminiscent of the shoegaze genre.
With director JJ Abrams and film CEO Katie McGarth as her parents, Gracie Abrams has seen her fair share of nepotism discourse. However, on this track, she takes that label and acknowledges it, while also making a powerful statement regarding it. She almost mocks the label put on her, as if rebelling against the implications that she’s had everything handed to her on a silver platter.
At the same time, she acknowledges her status and privilege in lyrics such as “Hungry and loud / You made me a plate / You lent me your life somehow / And I want your patience”, or “I want to say / How much I owe ya / I’ve loved your shoulder / [...] I’ll try to become you now”.
Once again, the exact meaning of the title track is ambiguous and left for the listener to interpret… And whether Gracie really is a “Daughter from Hell”, we’ll have to ask JJ Abrams.
Track 5: “Look at My Life”
As the second lead single from this record, released on June 25 this year, “Look at My Life” was additionally produced by Dan Nigro, who also worked on the entirety of the pop girl Olivia Rodrigo’s newest album.
A little faster-paced than the first single, this song has Gracie Abrams discussing the spotlight she has on her with notable sincerity. She exposes the listener to a version of herself that is not typically seen, as if to say, ‘Look, despite all the great things I have, I still face my own struggles'.
Lyrics such as “My nightmare actualized / I got what I wanted, it doesn’t sit right” further expose a vulnerable side to her celebrity status and are a brave commentary on the realities of stardom. The track’s production reflects this, precisely with its faster-paced and catchy chorus and a slightly slower bridge and outro that are both easy on the ear.
Track 6: “Good Reason”
The opening of track six reminds me of Gracie’s work on her previous album, such as the guitar notes in the intro of “Blowing Smoke” combined with “Let It Happen” – conveniently two of my favourite songs on “The Secret of Us.”
The vocals here shine especially bright – arguably one of the best on this album. Gracie sounds mellow and melancholic at the same time, reflecting on decisions made based on gut feelings that later have her debating if they were the right choices.
At the centre of this track is the common question “if only”: the track doesn’t set direct questions, but instead wonders and looks back on situations that have already reached their conclusions.
Track 7: “Men Like You”
With a soft opening that only picks up around the chorus, “Men Like You” is the disappointment one feels in a one-sided relationship (not necessarily a romantic one), where one person’s expectations aren’t met, and their behaviour doesn’t match their words.
In a way, this song has Gracie Abrams putting an end to the feelings as the song goes on, which is evident throughout lines such as “Hard to know what to say when we’re six feet underground” – as if to imply the relationship is already dead and buried.
The core chorus line “Girl, I know men like you / You, you” is relatively catchy and stands out as a highlight within the first half of the tracklist for me. This was a track I was highly anticipating personally when the tracklist was revealed, and safe to say it did not disappoint.
Track 8: “Sober”
Throughout this record, notions of possible drug use are utilised, either as a direct anecdote or a metaphor: from “I was a pill, you swallowed me down” in “Daughter from Hell”, to “I’ve been thinking through the hard stuff / Over light drugs like every night” in “Look At My Life”.
Wrapping up the first half of the album is a track that takes the described elements, and confronts them. However, in a contradictory way, I didn't interpret this track to be about the literal meaning of sobriety in relation to substance abuse, but rather a way of staying true to yourself while your brain is actively working against you.
Judging by lyrics like “Laughing, and we’re teary but we’re laughing”, or “And I think in time or another life / Under yellow light, you would move your face just closer”, I can picture a typical ‘right person, wrong time’ scenario, where mutual feelings are present, but time doesn’t make its way to unite two people together. The acoustic-led production further adds to the wistful atmosphere throughout the track.
Sanne:
Track 9: “Broke My Heart”
Opening the second half of this album, I feel Gracie to be at her most direct within this track. Rather than using metaphors, she lets the title and lyrics speak for themselves: “you just broke my heart,” delivering a song that feels startlingly honest.
The production remains restrained, allowing every crack of her voice to land with even more weight, and it’s that simplicity that makes the song so devastating.
What I think makes this track stand out is how relatable it can feel to people who have experienced heartbreak; documenting the moment when one finally admits someone they loved had changed them for the worse. Gracie has always excelled at turning quiet moments into unforgettable ones, and “Broke My Heart” is another reminder of that gift.
Track 10: “Mews”
“Mews” feels like wandering through memories you thought you’d left behind. There is an intimacy to the songwriting on this track that makes it feel like you’re reading pages from Gracie’s diary, with vivid details grounding the song while still leaving room for interpretation and personal adaptation.
The gentle instrumentation creates the space needed for her storytelling to shine. While it is one of the album’s quieter moments, it remains emotionally immersive.
Track 11: “Minibar”
After several emotionally heavy tracks, “Minibar” arrives almost like a breath of fresh air.
Co-written with friend and indie-pop star Audrey Hobert, it feels slightly playful, witty, and filled with an energy that captures the strange loneliness of being surrounded by people while still feeling disconnected: “Someone's looking lonely, looking like me, I think I know her.”
The faster pace gives the album a welcome change of momentum without sacrificing Gracie’s signature vulnerability. As the shortest track in length on this tracklist, “Minibar” lingers as strong as the previous tracks, and is my favourite for that reason.
Track 12: “Imaginary Friend”
Exploring the blurry lines between memory, longing, and fantasy, this track feels almost dreamlike. The soft production wrapped around the lyrics questions whether holding onto someone is actually worth it: “Don't be a figment of my imagination, but you are, and I fucking hate it.”
I believe this is one of the album’s more intriguing tracks, because it doesn’t offer easy answers by its conclusion. Instead, Gracie embraces ambiguity, letting listeners project their own experiences onto the song – something she has utilised on earlier tracks on this album, too. Again, that openness is exactly what makes the song linger long after it ends.
Track 13: “Afflictions”
To me, this track feels quietly haunting. The title suggests pain, and the song lives up to it, though without becoming melodramatic.
Instead, Gracie focuses on the subtle ways anxiety, doubt, and emotional wounds shape everyday life when you lose the one you love: “Oh, well, it can't be a coincidence / Oh, that I falter when you're gone.”
I find her vocal performance especially beautiful here: soft enough to feel fragile, yet confident enough to carry the song’s emotional weight.
Track 14: “Humming”
As the title suggests, “Humming” feels almost like a lullaby. However, beneath its gentle melody lies one of the album’s most emotionally rich moments.
There’s something comforting about the song, even while its lyrics are darker, wrestling with uncertainty: “I don't know love, how to live in extremes,” making it one of the album’s most bittersweet listens.
The track’s final chorus and outro feature American singer/songwriter and Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon. This, along with the production by Aaron Dessner and Gracie herself, creates an atmosphere that connects feelings of warmth and melancholy.
To me, it acts as a beautiful reminder that not every emotional climax needs to be loud to leave a lasting impression.
Track 15: “What If It’s Right?”
“What If It’s Right?” asks one of the simplest yet hardest questions anyone can face: what if happiness is actually possible, even though the process of getting to it might hurt? – “This could be the wrong thing / But what if it's right?”
Instead of focusing on fear of heartbreak, the song wrestles with the fear of toxicity. Mumford & Sons lead singer Marcus Mumford’s feature blends naturally with Gracie’s voice, adding range and perspective without stealing the spotlight.
Track 16: “Cold Goodbyes”
Closing the album, this track leaves listeners with exactly the feeling its title promises. Rather than ending with dramatic resolutions, Gracie chooses acceptance – the quiet kind that comes after the tears have already dried. It’s a fitting conclusion to an album built around emotional honesty.
“Daughter from Hell” peaked at number one on the Official Charts just nine days following its release. Meanwhile, Gracie Abrams is set to commence her Look At My Life Tour in December this year, beginning with two nights at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Follow Gracie Abrams here!
Listen to “Daughter from Hell” here!
Magda’s top 3:
“The Knife”
“Men Like You”
"Sober"
Sanne’s top 3:
“Minibar”
“Broke My Heart”
“Humming”
