We declared Conan Gray should be a bigger artist

this was really good!! way better than flop heaven, which i thought was disastrous. he's a songwriter and is at his best when he leans into his songwriting! the more acoustic based production really compliments his voice in a way that super synthetic pop production doesn't. don't know if the melodies are hitting as hard for me on first listen as the superache melodies did, but some career best songs (actor, this song, caramel, eleven eleven, care). great effort!

Whewwwwwwwwwwwww album is gorgeous

 

standouts are:

• Actor
• Romeo
• Care

+ the singles 

 

sonically boring , and a complete regression but if that's what fans want from him then it's great i guess…

34 minutes ago, MaxMartin said:

sonically boring , and a complete regression but if that's what fans want from him then it's great i guess…

oh trust "Found Heaven" was a masterpiece and that's how i discovered Conan, and its better than this album, but this is still gorgeous. 

this for me is conan's first fully great project. who knew all he had to do to get me was to fully *** out on the music 

 

also I'm buying into the kit connor theory sorry idgaf

4 hours ago, beckyswift said:

he's a songwriter and is at his best when he leans into his songwriting! the more acoustic based production really compliments his voice in a way that super synthetic pop production doesn't

That's very subjective, yes.. Conan is an excellent songwriter with amazing acoustic leaning songs but he also has a lot great pop bangers as well, that become hits as well, I hate when people do this and try to keep artists in boxes when it actually LIMITS the artistry, I would think an Swiftie wouldn't be saying considering there was an good amount of people were skeptical of Taylor's pop leaning aspect during the early part of her career.

 

 

just saying..

 

 

Edited August 15, 20251 yr by Yog

3 minutes ago, Yog said:

That's very subjective, yes.. Conan is an songwriter with amazing acoustic leaning songs but he also has a lot great pop bangers as well, that become hits as well, I hate when people do this and try to keep artists in boxes when it actually LIMITS the artistry, I would think an Swiftie wouldn't be saying considering there was an good amount of people were skeptical of Taylor's pop leaning aspect during the early part of her career.

 

 

just saying..

 

 

so first, it's an opinion! i'm not an a&r person with any influence over conan's career! taylor's transition to pop worked because she was able to keep her core identity as an artist in tact while changing genres. found heaven didn't do that for me. i didn't think the songwriting was strong, which is why i come to conan. i really didn't think the super pastichey 80s synth pop production suited him, nor did i like the way that he used his voice on that project. the strongest song imo was winner - that felt like a step forward sonically while retaining the qualities of conan that i come to. i'm sorry but i don't think an "evolution" is successful if it erases nearly all the things that you've loved about an artist. if 1989 had just been full of songs like shake it off, then it also wouldn't have worked. 

Atrl is sleeping on this and it is his best album sorry for those who disagree.

This being about Kit Connor is not on my bingo card but I'll take it because it makes the album much better 

Found Heaven is still his best album. However, this one is not bad. I just think it needed songs with different themes. Some lyrics are repetitive.
 

My favourites:

-Vodka Cranberry

-Actor

-Caramel

Really enjoying this   Vodka Cranberry is lowkey SOTY 

my world bridge 

 

amazing album, even better on 2nd listen

his best album

I'm pretty underwhelmed so far. I think the three previous albums are better. Hopefully it will grow on me. 

 

Some songs like Vodka Cranberry are 10/10. I just think that the melodies are not as strong this time.

Omg. This is so much better than his last album. The 80s synthpop doesn't work for him. Despite the grand production from Max Martin and Greg Kurstin, that album somehow sounds lifeless. This time however, is a return to form, good melodies all the way through.

14 hours ago, TheDreamer said:

This being about Kit Connor is not on my bingo card but I'll take it because it makes the album much better 

Was that confirmed

7 hours ago, Katamari said:

Was that confirmed

It's confirmed in my delulu head 

 

OT I think Top 5 for me is Actor, Vodka Cranberry, My World, Eleven Eleven, and Care

 

His best album by far!

7 hours ago, Katamari said:

Was that confirmed

Actor - Established the album is about an actor.

Romeo - Connor Kit played Romeo on Broadway.

Connell - Sounds like Connor when he sings + was Connor's favourite tv show character (from normal people) 

He also mentions the guy being from London a lot. I'm 100% sure it's about Connor Kit. 

I really enjoy this. Loved Found Heaven last year and am enjoying this one a lot as well. He's really improved with his latest releases. 

second half of the album is much better than the first half.

overall not too bad.

do we like it, atrl?

He never really connected with me before, but wow this is a beautiful album. Dan Nigro is gonna go down as the best pop producer of the 2020s.  

Overall I really like this and I'm thrilled he went back to this singer-songwriter sound, but after a couple listens this definitely isn't as strong as Superache for me.  The melodies aren't as catchy, the writing is more raw and less polished, and a couple of the songs are, frankly, boring (Class Clown, Connell, Sunset Tower).  There's nothing as instantly spectacular here as Memories, Jigsaw, People Watching or The Exit.

 

However, I love a lot of it.  Actor, This Song, Vodka Cranberry, Romeo, Nauseous, Caramel, and Eleven Eleven are great.

Care reminds me of another song but I can't figure it out!