Gracie Abrams may be fresh off her teenage years, but she’s old enough to know risk and reward belong together. Since she began releasing music in 2019, the singer-songwriter has homed in on emotional leaps of faith, her tremulous vocals expertly evoking the tear-splattered diary scribbles a great young love inspires. On her stripped-down new record The Secret of Us, Abrams takes stock of every crush and contradiction that led her to this chapter, reflecting the glow of formative past romances through soft prisms of pop, folk and indie rock. Anyone who missed her coveted stint as an opener on the Eras Tour will welcome Taylor Swift’s feature on “us.”, a soaring centrepiece addressed to an older partner Abrams can’t be sure ever took her seriously. She isn’t afraid to face the anxiety around her own legitimacy, or face it alone—Swift is the only feature across these 13 tracks. But between the cathartic power chords of “Tough Love”, the twinkling balladry of “I Love You, I’m Sorry” and the delicate simplicity of “Free Now”, the real secret to Abrams’ success shines through in her craftsmanship: She’s as serious as it gets.