Recommended tracks: “This Song,” “Vodka Cranberry,” “My World”
Artists you may like: Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, Alec Benjamin
Just a little over a year ago, Conan Gray released the 80s synth-pop-inspired “Found Heaven.” By then, to no one’s knowledge, he had already started writing songs that would end up on Wishbone, his fourth full-length album and fifth since his debut in 2020, the hit-spawning Kid Krow. On the new LP, Gray returns to form, teaming up with longtime collaborator Dan Nigro, who did not appear on his last project.
The heartbreaking opener “Actor” sets the tone for the album as he details a secret fling with, you guessed it, an actor who later pretended nothing ever happened between them. He sings, “A friend of mine asked you, ‘Ever talked to Conan?’ / You didn’t react, you said, ‘I barely even fucking know him.'”
He seemingly turns the page with the next track and first single, “This Song,” a love letter that perfectly bottles up the feeling of being in love and ready to finally tell the person that you are. Here, the strings shine through the production, making you feel like you’re in a movie, facing the rush and release of this moment of hope.
Unfortunately for the singer, that moment is short-lived with the follow-up, “Vodka Cranberry,” a highlight of the album. In a euphoric mix of angst and sadness, he begs his lover for closure in the chorus, “Speak up, I know you hate me / Looked at your picture and cried like a baby,” before declaring he’s sadly not waiting any longer: “If you won’t end things, then I will.” The song sounds like an instant classic, filled with beautiful melodies that sound familiar upon first listen, yet still exciting to hear like that high note on the bridge.
Following the emotional rollercoaster of the first few tracks, Gray takes a break from the tears starting with “Romeo,” as he suggestively refers to that same actor, letting him know that he’s moved on: “I hope you know I’m never gonna want you back / You put me in a grave of stone, but now it only makes me laugh.”
On the upbeat, “My World,” he claims further independence from that person, figuring out who he is without them and living life on his own terms. He sings, “So, when you shut the door and shut the world of me / How was I supposed to know who I should be / If I was no longer yours?”
On the folky, stripped-down, “Class Clown,” we still find him reflective and introspective but with no romantic partners in sight. Instead, he opens up about how he coped with family trauma growing up by making people laugh.
While “Nauseous” alludes to a new love, we find out on the indie rock “Caramel” that we might already know the subject in question. The latter, released as the third single, has its own music video: a continuation of the story previously seen in the videos for “Your Song” and “Vodka Cranberry.”
Over the next three tracks, the singer continues to contemplate his relationships. On “Connell,” he doesn’t hold back, singing, “You remind me of my father slurring words / So, you remind me of how little I deserve.” On “Sunset Tower” we hear a sonic shift with a driving bass line and a hypnotic chorus, while “Eleven Eleven” brings back the cinematic instrumentation heard throughout the album. The closing track, “Care,” picks up the pace in a slightly more positive tone, during which he declares he has moved on, although he confesses, “I’m not trying to say that I want you back but it’s nice to linger in the past.”
When Gray announced Wishbone back in May, he shared that he had played the new collection of songs to his friends prior to its release, and soon they started calling it “an egregiously niche soundtrack” to their lives. That’s exactly how we feel listening to it: fully transported into its world from the storytelling. It’s a record of deeply vulnerable, personable experiences that somehow feel like our own. With this effort, he showcases how much he has matured as a songwriter while still managing to capture the true innocence of being a hopeless romantic.
Get tickets to see Conan Gray on tour in support of his new album here.
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