“Gracie’s albums have always come at the right time for me and she is very vulnerable in her lyrics” - Gracie Abrams - Daughter From Hell - Album Review - By The Fans Magazine

Words & Review: Amber Williams

Photography Credit to owner.

Gracie Abrams’ third album ‘Daughter From Hell’ was released on the 17th of July 2026. Gracie’s last album was released in 2024 and she has since gone on a world tour, travelling many countries and cities and making a community. Gracie is set to go on another world tour starting at the end of this year starting in North America. 

Like many young girls, Gracie’s albums have always come at the right time for me and she is very vulnerable in her lyrics and this is definitely continued throughout this album as well, making many fans feel connected to her. Gracie explained in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that this album is an apology to her mum, because when she was a teenager she was very much a ‘typical teenager’.

The first song on the album is Hit the Wall this was the first single of the album and was released on May 14th. The song starts off with a synth piano and also an underlining of piano, but very simple chords. After the first chorus we are introduced to a slow build up of drums, a simple kick but also very effective. In the second chorus we have some backing vocals sung by a male voice. The bridge builds up with multiple layers of instruments creating a fuller sound. The lyrics ‘I’m not a problem you can solve’ expresses that she thinks she is a problem, and also too complicated to ‘solve’. This song explores the feeling of having conflicting feelings, doing one thing but bouncing back to what you know best and what is natural to you.

Heavier synth is what introduces us into Death Wish but then we are introduced to an acoustic guitar which is different to the piano vibe we had at the start of the album. The vocals of this song are in the front of the track, they are the most clear and what you can feel the most. Gracie played this song on her last tour as an ‘unreleased’ song and many people speculated about whether this would be on the album, but as she had released a live version when she was touring, we were very helpful. The song seems to look into feeling trapped in a relationship, like it is killing you but you are so used to it, and in some ways crave it. At the end of the song she explains how she figured the person out and wasn't afraid to stand up and tell them that, and they weren't very happy with that. They seem to be ashamed.

Following Death Wish we have The Knife. We are greeted with piano and vocals, layering of vocals before building up with a drum pattern, which gives it that head-bopping element. For the first time in this album we have very prominent electric guitar lines that compliment the piano. The Knife connotes a metaphor for being scarred by something, as a knife would leave a scar. In the chorus Gracie sings about how this person is still ruining her life even though they are no longer in her life, and how she is ‘doing her time’ which means she could maybe be blaming herself for this. The song shows signs of the person she is singing about having a big ego because they are up on a pedestal, this theme was also explored in the previous song, their titles relating to each other definitely further proves this point. 

Daughter from Hell starts with an electric guitar, which hasn't been the introducing instrument yet so far. Electric guitar and bass seem to be the main instruments throughout this song. This song almost feels like an apology to her mum, saying how she wants all of her mum's good qualities and how she wishes to make her mum proud. The song ends on ‘daughter from hell but I came around, I’ll try to become you now’. This song feels very personal and almost as if we are witnessing her and her mum have a conversation.

Look at My Life was the second single on the album, in my opinion it is the most upbeat song so far. Starting with heavier synth and drums pretty much straight away. Once again, her vocals are very much in the front but everything else is also perfectly clear, making the song a very good listen. The upbeat instrumentals are a massive contrast to when you actually listen to the lyrics that Gracie is singing. She sings about how she isn’t having a good time, and to ‘look at her life’. She talks about missing her friends because she disappeared and hasn't seen them in a year. This could suggest she was so depressed that she just did not see anyone, therefore pushing everyone away. This song is almost like Gracie figuring out that her life wasn’t good at that moment in time and the upbeat melodies could suggest she was overwhelmed and thinking fast.

Good Reason is mostly just Gracie and an acoustic guitar, you can almost picture in your mind the old YouTube videos she used to do with just her guitar and her singing, there is a slight build in drums but the acoustic and her vocals are very prominent. The start of the song links back to the theme of ‘The Knife’ as she mentions having a knife and threatening her relationship. As you go through this song you realise that she is talking about a

relationship where the person she was involved with adored her and she just wasn’t feeling it. How she wishes she had a good reason to end things, but there just wasn’t and sometimes that’s ok. This is one of my favourite songs on the album as it feels more personal, and it is very real, also a feeling some people may not ever talk about or address.  

Higher keys are what introduces the song Men Like You. From the title you can definitely tell what the song is going to be like. This song is in a higher key compared to the rest of the album, especially her vocals. There is a little synth in the background adding layers and texture to the song. This song once again explores the theme of men with a big ego, who think they have the right to treat you however they want to as they think they can and have the authority to do that. Men with no feelings, and we have all experienced that. 

Sober has a massive aspect of finger-picking guitar, her vocals are very low and somber, setting the tone for the song. Light high keys are added throughout the song as well as a slight drum pattern. This song suggests seeing someone again when you are under the influence, and wishing you were still in each other's lives, but it just didn't work out for them. This song links back to the feeling of Good Reason, and how sometimes things are just like that. 

Broke my Heart is a heavily key song again, which is a common theme throughout this album. It adds the feeling of emotion to the songs and it ties them all together, we are going through a rollercoaster of emotions as the album progresses which I really like. This song explores the feeling of a break up happening out of nowhere and the other person being so completely unaffected by it, and Gracie explaining how she will carry the pain of it for her whole life, and she doesn’t understand how they are so unbothered.

Mews is a piano ballad, it explores the feelings of the end of a relationship and it is fading out. I think this song is so beautifully written and so amazingly vulnerable. Gracie really manages to explain the feelings of growing up in this generation, and puts it exactly into the right words, words we could not find ourselves. Mews feels like a moment of certainty and acceptance for Gracie, even though she is not happy about it happening, it is sad like the moment of accepting something is over for good. 

Minibar is co-written with Gracie’s best friend Audrey Hobert, it is a complete contrast to Gracie’s usual music and more leaning towards Audrey’s style of song. But it works so well. The song is so upbeat, it almost feels like you are dancing with your best friend and having the time of your life. This song has some of my favourite lyrics on the whole album which is ‘think someone perceived me, kind of scarred’. As for me, the thought of people being able to perceive me is a terrifying thought. Audrey’s vocals are also on this track and it circles back to my feeling of dancing around with your best friend, because you know they definitely did this when writing this song. Unlike many other songs by Gracie, this song has a sense of humour and adds a very different vibe, but it still fits perfectly. 

Imaginary Friend starts with just very blunt acoustic guitar playing and lyrics, it makes you drawn in and you can really listen to what she is saying. The sharp guitar brings more focus to the lyrics which is what makes it work so well. Even though it may sound slightly upbeat, this song is actually really sad when you take a deeper dive into what she is saying. Gracie explores the feelings of being so lonely that you make up someone there, you  need company so you start imagining it. As the song progresses she says that she nearly believed they were really there, and therefore this character in her mind is so intertwined with her daily life that she almost felt their presence. The snappy guitar and lyrics could also be there to create uncomfortable silence to display the emotions that Gracie is feeling when singing this song, to really bring it alive. This song can follow on from the theme of loss/heartbreak as when you lose someone your brain and your body start to expect and crave their company, they are a part of your everyday life, and then all of a sudden they aren’t, so you have to fill that space. 

Afflictions is a bit more of an upbeat song but it is still emotional with the piano and Gracie’s soft voice. The instruments do build up but it is still soft and elegant, almost like you are flowing. This song can connote the feeling of pain being in your life everyday, it becoming your everyday routine, You are getting used to it. Afflictions could explore the feelling of noticing what is wrong with your behaviours, not fixing them but acknowledging them is always a good step in the right direction.

Even though Humming still has heavy elements of piano and slow synths, the tone of this song is a lot happier, and it might be a mix of the happier notes being played, or the slight happiness in Gracie's voice, it sounds a lot more hopeful. This song isn’t solely focused on her personal relationships but rather on our generation as a whole, and how we all have experienced growing up, if we have experienced it in similar ways that Gracie has. This song is intimate but also so much more hopeful, like we aren’t alone, and neither is she. 

What if it’s Right? It is introduced with an upbeat fingerpicking acoustic guitar. The title of the song and this introduction definitely welcomes the feeling of hope, especially after the feeling when listening to Humming, it almost feels like the emotions are turning around now and for the better. Throughout this album we have had Gracie explore the feelings of heartbreak, loss and making the wrong decisions. This song could annotate the ideas of maybe actually, the idea of finally being happy can be terrifying. Because sometimes you can be so used to a negative feeling, that when things finally go the way you want them to go, you are confused, almost like, why am I not experiencing sadness right now? This is about being in a happy relationship and being terrified because everything is going right and you are almost confused, almost as if, ‘Is this supposed to happen?’ As someone that struggles with OCD hearing the phrase ‘What if it’s right?’ is almost like wow, you can think positive thoughts to conflict your negative ones. I love that this is near the end of the album, giving you a feeling of happiness, and maybe, what if it’s right?

The closing song Cold Goodbyes is immediately introduced with Gracie’s vocals rather than an instrument. I feel like this adds a feeling of rawness to the song, to make you really listen to her.  This song explores the feeling of that sometimes, breakups are so expected, that it’s not enough closure when it ends. Almost as if it’s not ‘dramatic’ enough. But sometimes when this happens, it doesn't give you any closure at all, and sometimes it is actually worse for this to happen, than if everything blew up and went badly. She is saying she is better than Cold Goodbyes, she wants them to be nice and calm.