c/o Conan Gray
Found Heaven, Conan Gray’s ’80s-inspired third LP, is a tour de force. Released on Friday, April 5, 2024, it’s also a major thematic and sonic shift from his previous two albums, Kid Krow (2020) and Superache (2022). Prior records focused on a yearning for romantic connection. For instance, in “People Watching,” a song from Superache, Gray sings, “But I wanna feel all that love and emotion / Be that attached to the person I’m holding / Someday, I’ll be falling without caution / But for now, I’m only people watching.” These lyrics epitomize how Gray’s early work was often more about pining than about real relationships.
Found Heaven represents a change in that it describes an actual romance. More specifically, it describes the end of said romance and all the feelings that ensue. Despite the sadness that permeates many of its songs, Gray expressed gratitude for the experiences that led to the album’s creation.
“I’ve spent so many years of my life hiding in my room and not doing anything and being so afraid of ever getting hurt or rejected or feeling bad, that I ended up living no life,” Gray said in an interview with Billboard.
Admittedly, on my first couple listens I struggled to connect with this album the same way I did with Gray’s previous records. Songs like “Eye Of The Night” and “Fainted Love” are synth-heavy with powerful choruses—a far cry from the gentle melancholy of Gray’s earlier songs like “Astronomy” and “Heather.” However, I eventually realized that this album is a different type of record than either of his earlier releases. Found Heaven is a scream-sing-it-at-the-top-of-your-lungs sort of album; it’s supposed to be fun and lighthearted in a way that Superache and Kid Krow were not. Further, it also fits perfectly into the landscape of new pop releases, combining the theatricality and flair of Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023), the raw emotion and compulsive singability of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS (2023), and the timeless synth-pop of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2023).
At the same time, the album is distinctly Conan Gray. Though buried under more over-the-top production, the hearts and themes of Superache and Kid Krow persist throughout. This is perhaps most evident in my favorite track, “Alley Rose.” The song describes Gray’s emotions surrounding a recent breakup. “Don’t leave me hangin’ alone again / Oh, where’d you go, go, alley rose?” he sings in the chorus. But where “Alley Rose” really shines is the bridge. I’m speaking from experience when I say that the bridge is perfect to blast at top volume and sing along to. “I ran my fingers through your hair / and I thanked God to touch the flame,” Gray sings. Gray’s delivery and lyrics both masterfully capture feelings of emotional turmoil.
“Boys and Girls” and “Bourgeoisieses,” both upbeat with catchy choruses, are also highlights, as is the more ballad-esque “Forever With Me,” which devastatingly proclaims “I wouldn’t change a thing / But it’ll take a lifetime to get better.”
My main critique of the album is its cohesiveness. In some ways, this is a strength. All the best parts of any given song carry over to the others. However, there are times in the album’s 36-minute runtime where the pounding choruses and echoey synths begin to blur into one another.
That said, I’ve found even the songs that I initially wasn’t particularly fond of have been getting stuck in my head. The album’s catchiness is by far its biggest strength, which is not surprising given that Max Martin—pop music titan and producer for the likes of Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande—was one of its producers.
In short, Found Heaven is an album for people with more feelings than they know what to do with— specifically, people who want to exorcise those feelings by blasting synth pop bops. I would highly recommend that anyone who is going through a breakup, enjoys 80s power pop, or just wants a fun spring album listen to Found Heaven.
Anna Thomas can be reached at asthomas@wesleyan.edu.