"Daughter from Hell": Gracie Abrams album review

Maybe Gracie Abrams isn’t being self-deprecating labelling herself “daughter from hell”. I, too, have historically felt bad for my parents when everything in my life was going well, but my relentless anxiety was preventing me from enjoying life to its full capacity. “My nightmare actualized: got what I wanted, it doesn’t sit right”, a lyric from “Look At My Life”, summarizes being an anxious-avoidant workaholic with imposter syndrome. Abrams yearns, ruminates, and eulogizes herself. When you put all that into one album, it’s fitting to call it “Daughter from Hell”.

The Daughter from Hell album cover

“Hit the Wall”: In the lead single, Abrams immediately launches into her struggles with fame, singing, “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”. I wasn’t initially a fan of the overly metaphorical lyrical style, but it’s grown on me.

“Death Wish”: Olivia Rodrigo recently described this song as lyrically “poignant” in a Spotify interview. The song was debuted on the Secret of Us Tour, prompting the release of a live acoustic version. Some lyrics feel deep to the point of corniness, but the song remains profound and beautiful – Abrams somehow makes, “Honeypie, you’re haunting me” work. The opening riff reminds me of “Daisies” by Katy Perry.

“The Knife”: Even if this song is about a relationship, I relate it to OCD compulsions, “They’re daring me to kick you out, I’ll probably feel you till I die/but I’ll never face you or ever replace you, it doesn’t work”. I like the song a lot more than I expected after hearing the creaky grand piano intro.

“Daughter from Hell”: Dedicated to Abrams’ mother’s support through her mental-illness-ridden upbringing, this song contains electric guitar-strumming ambience. I can’t imagine I’ll listen to this song often, but I think it was a great inclusion.

Promotional material for the Look at My Life Tour, named after track 5 of Daughter from Hell

“Look At My Life”: There’s a theme in Abrams’ pre-release singles for this record – they all highlight how she blames herself for things not working out right. This song is relatable to many a young adult, “Move across the country just to judge myself just as much as I do when I’m sitting here”. Abrams’ leans into a more mainstream pop sound, which is my kryptonite when done right.

“Good Reason”: This is one of several Daughter From Hell tracks that satiates fans who missed the rawer instrumentals of Abrams’ debut album, Good Riddance. Its lyrics parallel “Best” (2023) when she sings, “If only you treated me poorly, if only you didn’t adore me”, similar to, “You fell hard, I thought ‘good riddance’”. Additionally, you can hear Abrams maturing; the hook is, “If only I had a good reason”, but it sounds like she did have a good reason, a progression from what the 2023 track conveyed. She sings this time that she caved from pressure after her partner “called me your everything”.

“Men Like You”: Fans were stunned by the revelation at the end of the chorus that the line, “I know men like you”, was not directed toward a man, but rather delivers the insult of the century to a woman. This diss is more brutal considering earlier releases like, “Tough Love” (2024), in which Abrams sings, “No chance I waste my twenties on random men, not one of them is cooler than all my friends”.

Gracie Abrams performing at New York's Bowery Ballroom, photo by Gabriella Hughes

“Sober”: One of my favorites on the album. Abrams bemoans what could’ve been with an almost-lover, “In another life… [we’d] kiss and then we’d sigh, kiss again and say, ‘come over’”.

“Broke My Heart”: This song joins “The Knife”, “Mews” and “Imaginary Friend” in showing a shift in how Abrams handles heartbreak. She’s much more defeatist, “I’m gonna carry the pain for my whole life”. This song had to grow on me, as the upbeat sound mixed with devastating lyrics wasn’t hitting at first.

“Mews”: A ballad, this seems to be about the same situation as “Broke My Heart”, but with a much slower tone. I like it less now than I did on my first listen. Abrams grapples with a harsh ending before realizing, as the instruments cut, that “It’s over now”.

Audrey Hobert (left) and Gracie Abrams (right) breaking down the lyrics to "Risk", a Secret of Us co-write, for Genius

“Minibar”: Co-writer, singer, and long-time friend of Abrams’, Audrey Hobert, helps this song maintain balance between Abrams’ wannabe socialite persona and her innately awkward reality. I wish the song was longer, and I think the lyric, “Someone perceived me, kinda scarred” is corny, but the lyrics are otherwise satisfying – “I’m gone, but hello!”

“Imaginary Friend”: Abrams’ boyfriend Paul Mescal has a writing credit here! I love their angle: Abrams mourns backsliding after mistakenly thinking she’s detected the presence of someone she misses, “Tell me I’m not a failure… don’t be a figment of my imagination, but you are and I fucking hate it”.

“Afflictions”: Abrams breaks a pattern from previous albums: this time, she doesn’t close with a love song, and instead places the sole love song near the end. “Afflictions” doesn’t stick out to me yet, but the piano intro is heavenly. It feels like a happy complement to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” lyric, “I have a fun idea, babe, maybe just stay inside” when Abrams sings, “I’ll go anywhere you want, but then again, I like this house”. 

The single cover for "Death Wish - Live from The O2 Arena", teased prior to the album release

“Humming”: The lyrics, “Every kid I grew up with has lost their childhood house, no way to make sense of it” were first teased on Abrams’ Instagram months ago. She details the nightmarish realities she uses music and sweet dreams to escape. The song devastatingly combines lyrics and instrumentation to make for a great think piece.

“What If It’s Right (with Marcus Mumford)”: This is a fan-favorite, and while I relate to the lyrics, I find them annoyingly repetitive, “This could be the wrong thing, but what if it’s right? So why are we leaving? But is it the wrong thing? But what if it’s right?”

“Cold Goodbyes”: Essentially a piano-based suicide note, Abrams previously performed this on the Secret of Us Tour. I’ll end this review with a few lyrics that really sting from this song:

Cities are for lonely deer in headlights

The questioning starts coming in half-hearted show of faith

Now the aliens are asking if I’m okay

I know better than cold goodbyes, I still make-believe them sometimes

Gracie Abrams performing at New York's Bowery Ballroom prior to the Daughter from Hell release, photo by Gabriella Hughes

Other favorite lyrics:

“I use when I’m able, I downgrade/I barely deserve it if you do stay/I wish you would anyway/but I hit the wall” – “Hit the Wall”

“How long will you give me till you twist the knife with a smile while you kill me?” – “Death Wish”

“Taking my chances, rolling the dice/this should be the last time” – “The Knife”

“Daughter from hell, hungry and loud” – “Daughter from Hell”

“If only I chose you and not me” – “Good Reason”

“What’s the cost, then, of the ones you’re losing? Until you regret it, go on and claim your prize” – “Men Like You”

“I miss you from across the room” – “Sober”

“I’d rather get hit by a train than have to let go” – “Broke My Heart”

“Once was a rock, I’m your hard place now” – “Mews”

“You never simply talk to me, you tell the truth ‘bout everything” – “Afflictions”

“I’d regift my loneliness, my brain half-melted down/all that weed from seventeen has caught up to me now” – “Humming”

Daughter From Hell is available on all streaming platforms now. Purchase tickets to the Look At My Life Tour here.