Good Riddance (album)

Gracie Abrams was interested in journaling and playing the piano since age eight. Though she thought she'd never consider performing music professionally, followed by This Is What It Feels Like in 2021. The EPs helped gain her attention from high-profile musicians such as Billie Eilish, Lorde, Olivia Rodrigo, and Phoebe Bridgers. and headlined the This Is What It Feels Like Tour. She later drew the attention of Taylor Swift, who invited her to open for the Eras Tour. According to NME, This Is What It Feels Like had the makings of a debut album, but she did not consider it a "cohesive work" and was too "chaotic internally" to think of a debut album. Abrams chose the title Good Riddance because while it sounds harsh, she liked its satirical side, "To be comfortable casually throwing certain things away and walking into the next chapter no matter what that looks like". She also felt that there were shifts in her personal life while creating the album, so she said "good riddance" to "versions of [herself] that [she] didn't recognize anymore". ==Writing and recording==

When writing Good Riddance, Abrams practiced on becoming accountable and a better partner in future relationships. She enlisted her returning collaborator Aaron Dessner of the National, who worked on This Is What It Feels Like, She would often work 12-hour days and write up to two songs a day while staying with Dessner and his family at Long Pond. She 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, Early development of Good Riddance started when Dessner invited her to record at Long Pond during 2021, making ten songs. She felt lucky to evolve without Slatkin, another of her former collaborators, and safe to "figure out" her sound with Dessner when writing Good Riddance. She also said that Dessner has the ability to make people "feel safe to explore the most raw parts of themselves". 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 played the guitar while she sang the lyrics. She felt that the natural feeling and trust between herself and Dessner while recording was shown 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". She was also 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. == Composition ==

Overview The standard edition of Good Riddance includes 12 tracks; the deluxe edition contains four additional tracks. friendships, and family. and coming of age. Martyn Young of Dork wrote that the tracks "begin delicately before swelling to quietly epic proportions". Dork wrote that the album is "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". Maya Georgi of Rolling Stone described the album's melodies as "soft-spoken" and "simple", and said they are "steeped in sadness but still pack a punch". Critics universally called Abrams's songwriting confessional. Songs On the album's opening track, "Best", Abrams analyzes her 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. 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. 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. "Will You Cry?" further alludes to Abrams's breakup with Slatkin, examining her mental health, family and friends, and the sorrows of going through her early 20s. On the track, she admits that there is nothing left in the relationship and that if she does not end the relationship, she would lose herself. 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". The track recalls Abrams's 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 song "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 of the standard edition, "Right Now", reflects on the difficulty of life and leaving the past behind atop simplistic production that is powered by droning synthesizers. The deluxe edition of Good Riddance includes the extra songs "Block Me Out", "Unsteady", "405", and "Two People". == Promotion and release ==

The lead single to Good Riddance, "Difficult", was released on October 7, 2022. The second single, "Where Do We Go Now?", was released on January 13, and was accompanied by a music video directed by Gia Coppola. The album's third single "Amelie" released on February 10. The album's track list was unveiled on February 6, and the album was released by Interscope Records on February 24. Its deluxe edition 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. On August 15, 2023, she announced Australian dates of the Good Riddance Tour, which began on January 15, 2024. During September 2023, she performed the Good Riddance Acoustic Shows across North America with Dessner. A live album recorded on the tour was released on vinyl on February 23, 2024. She also embarked on the European leg of the Good Riddance Tour throughout September and October 2023. A live version of "I Know It Won't Work" was released on a 7-inch single backed with a demo of "Abby" on November 9, 2023. On December 14, 2023, Abrams made her debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "I Should Hate You". == Critical reception ==

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 Fits Amaya Lim said the album "verges on greatness" and called it "an incredibly honest portrayal of guilt, doubt, and heartbreak". For The Dartmouth, Elle Muller called it "exceptionally well done" and thought that with each listen, "new beautiful lyrics jump out". Some reviewers were more critical towards Abrams's lyricism. Pitchforks Jane Bua thought it was cliché. Writing for The A.V. Club, who ranked it the 21st best, Gajjar called it a "promising, sublime first album". Dailey wrote that it "officially propelled Abrams into the mainstream" for Billboard, who ranked it the 24th best. Hot Press named it the 27th best. For Rolling Stone, who named it the 62nd best, Maya Georgi called it a "stunning debut", and wrote that "the way she can deliver seething lines in an angelic whisper sets her apart from her bedroom-pop peers". Uproxx, and the USC Annenberg Press. Billboard also considered "Where Do We Go Now?" as the 96th best song of the year, == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from Tidal. Musicians • Gracie Abrams – lead vocals (all tracks), Wurlitzer electric piano (10) • Aaron Dessner – acoustic guitar (1, 6–10, 13), baritone guitar (11), bass (3, 5, 6, 8–10, 12, 13, 15), cymbals (1), drum programming (2, 4–6, 11–16), electric bass (1), electric guitar (1–5, 8, 9, 11, 13–16), guitar (1, 5, 9, 10, 14–16), Mellotron (1, 2, 6, 11, 14), ophicleide (4), percussion (1, 4–6), piano (1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16), shaker (3, 10), synth bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 14, 16), synthesizer (1–6, 8–12, 14–16), tambourine (1), Wurlitzer electric piano (2, 3, 9, 10, 12) • Jonathan Low – synth bass (8) • James McAlister – drums (4–7, 9, 14–16), drum programming (8), electric guitar (2, 3, 5), guitar (5), keyboards (1–5, 9, 14, 16), maracas (9, 14), Moog bass (2, 5–7, 9, 10, 14), percussion (8, 11, 12), piano (7), shaker (6, 16), synth bass (15), synthesizer (2–14, 16), tambourine (3, 9), tom-toms (16), woodwinds (16) • Rob Moose – orchestration (4), piano (4), strings (13), viola (4, 11, 14), violin (4, 11, 14) • Thomas Bartlett – piano (1–12, 16), synthesizer (1–12, 16), Mellotron (1–6, 8, 11), keyboards (1), ophicleide (8, 14) Wurlitzer electric piano (1–5, 7, 8, 11) • Ben Lanz – synthesizer (1, 4–6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16), trombone (16) • Matt Barrick – drums (1, 3, 9, 13, 14) percussion (2, 3, 9), tambourine (13) • James Krivchenia – drums (2, 3, 5, 14), percussion (5) • Bryce Dessner – electric guitar (2, 3) • Bryan Devendorf – drums (8) Technical • Aaron Dessner – production, engineering • Randy Merrill – mastering (1–12, 14–16) • Steve Fallone – mastering (13) • Jonathan Low – mixing (all tracks), engineering (1–12, 14–16) • Bella Blasko – engineering (1–7, 9–12) • James McAlister – engineering (1–3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15) • Thomas Bartlett – engineering (1–3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15) • Ben Lanz – engineering (1, 5, 15) • Matt Barrick – engineering (13) • Rob Moose – engineering (13) • Matias Tellez – additional production (2, 4) • Mick Raskin – vocal engineering (8) == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==