{"id":2048656,"date":"2026-07-17T10:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048656"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:03:28","slug":"gracie-abrams-daughter-from-hell-review-a-dramatic-reckoning-with-her-younger-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048656","title":{"rendered":"Gracie Abrams \u2013 \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 review: a dramatic reckoning with her younger self"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gracie-Abrams-Credit-Mitch-Ryan.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gracie-Abrams-Credit-Mitch-Ryan-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Gracie Abrams Daughter From Hell Review Artwork\" title=\"Gracie Abrams Credit Mitch Ryan\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Gracie Abrams. Credit: Mitch Ryan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Gracie Abrams \u2013 \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 review: a dramatic reckoning with her younger self<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>More plodding than enlightened, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter\u2019s contemplative third album shows she still has more growing to do<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">3<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Rhian Daly<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-07-17T11:03:28+01:00\">17th July 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>To exist in a Gracie Abrams song is to be wrapped up in a certain level of melodrama and yearning. Big, crushing feelings have become part of her calling card, delivered in a featherlight voice that reinforces the sense that, any second, the whole world could come crumbling down around her.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Little Grandad: the alt-country band speeding towards stardom<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s unsurprising, then, that for the title of her third album, she goes to extremes again. \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 sounds like a record that will be marked by rebellion and angst \u2013 and lots of it \u2013 but you\u2019ll have to dig deep for much of the former. Instead, this is Abrams\u2019 reflection on her younger self, looking back from a far more mature, stable vantage point, only occasionally letting her slip back into the apparent carnage of her youth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean the emotions on this album are any smaller, and the singer-songwriter signposts them with enough violent imagery that she could be writing her own horror movie. <i>\u201cI\u2019m a crack in the pavement \/ I\u2019m a slipknot\u201d<\/i>, goes the very first line of album opener \u2018Hit The Wall\u2019. On \u2018Death Wish\u2019, she\u2019s at the mercy of another, demanding to know when they\u2019ll <i>\u201ctwist the knife \/ With a smile while you kill me\u201d<\/i>. \u2018The Knife\u2019, pretty but unspectacular, finds her <i>\u201cliving with a knife in my side [\u2026] They\u2019re daring me to pull it out \/ I\u2019ll probably keep it for a lifetime\u201d<\/i>. And that\u2019s just the first three songs.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gracie Abrams - Look at My Life (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2YSnCqHXMGY?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>So far, so dramatic, but the problem is that those sentiments often fall flat; jump scares thrown in to zhuzh up a limp script. They fare better in the second half of the album, when Abrams adds a twist \u2013 turning the horror into something positive. \u2018Imaginary Friend\u2019, a softly strummed song she co-wrote with partner Paul Mescal, takes a spectral presence felt in the kitchen and brings some humour to the situation. \u2018Afflictions\u2019, meanwhile, puts us on a plane juddering through the sky: <i>\u201cYou hold my hand through turbulence\u201d<\/i>, she whispers. <i>\u201cYou sugarcoat the oxygen\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>As well as Mescal, there\u2019s a plethora of big-name collaborators on \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019. \u2018Minibar\u2019 is an obvious Audrey Hobert co-write; Bon Iver\u2019s Justin Vernon shows up on \u2018Hit The Wall\u2019 and \u2018Humming\u2019; Marcus Mumford lends his voice to \u2018What If It\u2019s Right?\u2019 Often, though, the album\u2019s best songs come when it\u2019s just Abrams and longtime producer Aaron Dessner working in tandem \u2013 previous single \u2018Look At My Life\u2019 takes us into a high school party full of pills and popular kids in a way that acknowledges the stupidity of it all but still feels like a rush, while \u2018Sober\u2019 is a gorgeous piece of work that gently builds into something devastating.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 is meant to be a reflection, so it\u2019s fitting that the title track serves as an apology to Abrams\u2019 parents for terrorising them as a teenage tearaway. It\u2019s a shame that it ends up feeling plodding and dirgey, the slow, distorted guitar making it feel more torturous than enlightened. Perhaps that in itself is a reflection \u2013 that, at 26, Abrams still, as we all do, has more growing to do.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gracie-Abrams-Daughter-From-Hell-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"gracie abrams daughter from hell review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Interscope Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Gracie Abrams<\/li>\n<li>Pop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Garbage\u2019s Shirley Manson apologises to Mel C for calling Spice Girls \u201cabhorrent\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Robbie Williams shares new version of Official Fifa Anthem \u2018Desire\u2019 featuring Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini ahead of World Cup final<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music Interviews<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Sigrid on her love of pop and rock: \u201cI\u2019ve been somewhere in between\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Leon Bridges announces album \u2018Happiness Anytime\u2019 with four new songs: \u201cI want this album to be something that lingers in people\u2019s bones\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Sleaford Mods play The Prodigy remix, cover Pet Shop Boys at Electric Castle 2026<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">CMAT will not be playing live in 2027<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_99\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_100  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_102  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_104 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>To exist in a Gracie Abrams song is to be wrapped up in a certain level of melodrama and yearning. Big, crushing feelings have become part of her calling card, delivered in a featherlight voice that reinforces the sense that, any second, the whole world could come crumbling down around her.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Little Grandad: the alt-country band speeding towards stardom<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s unsurprising, then, that for the title of her third album, she goes to extremes again. \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 sounds like a record that will be marked by rebellion and angst \u2013 and lots of it \u2013 but you\u2019ll have to dig deep for much of the former. Instead, this is Abrams\u2019 reflection on her younger self, looking back from a far more mature, stable vantage point, only occasionally letting her slip back into the apparent carnage of her youth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean the emotions on this album are any smaller, and the singer-songwriter signposts them with enough violent imagery that she could be writing her own horror movie. <i>\u201cI\u2019m a crack in the pavement \/ I\u2019m a slipknot\u201d<\/i>, goes the very first line of album opener \u2018Hit The Wall\u2019. On \u2018Death Wish\u2019, she\u2019s at the mercy of another, demanding to know when they\u2019ll <i>\u201ctwist the knife \/ With a smile while you kill me\u201d<\/i>. \u2018The Knife\u2019, pretty but unspectacular, finds her <i>\u201cliving with a knife in my side [\u2026] They\u2019re daring me to pull it out \/ I\u2019ll probably keep it for a lifetime\u201d<\/i>. And that\u2019s just the first three songs.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gracie Abrams - Look at My Life (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2YSnCqHXMGY?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>So far, so dramatic, but the problem is that those sentiments often fall flat; jump scares thrown in to zhuzh up a limp script. They fare better in the second half of the album, when Abrams adds a twist \u2013 turning the horror into something positive. \u2018Imaginary Friend\u2019, a softly strummed song she co-wrote with partner Paul Mescal, takes a spectral presence felt in the kitchen and brings some humour to the situation. \u2018Afflictions\u2019, meanwhile, puts us on a plane juddering through the sky: <i>\u201cYou hold my hand through turbulence\u201d<\/i>, she whispers. <i>\u201cYou sugarcoat the oxygen\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>As well as Mescal, there\u2019s a plethora of big-name collaborators on \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019. \u2018Minibar\u2019 is an obvious Audrey Hobert co-write; Bon Iver\u2019s Justin Vernon shows up on \u2018Hit The Wall\u2019 and \u2018Humming\u2019; Marcus Mumford lends his voice to \u2018What If It\u2019s Right?\u2019 Often, though, the album\u2019s best songs come when it\u2019s just Abrams and longtime producer Aaron Dessner working in tandem \u2013 previous single \u2018Look At My Life\u2019 takes us into a high school party full of pills and popular kids in a way that acknowledges the stupidity of it all but still feels like a rush, while \u2018Sober\u2019 is a gorgeous piece of work that gently builds into something devastating.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 is meant to be a reflection, so it\u2019s fitting that the title track serves as an apology to Abrams\u2019 parents for terrorising them as a teenage tearaway. It\u2019s a shame that it ends up feeling plodding and dirgey, the slow, distorted guitar making it feel more torturous than enlightened. Perhaps that in itself is a reflection \u2013 that, at 26, Abrams still, as we all do, has more growing to do.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\">\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gracie-Abrams-Daughter-From-Hell-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"gracie abrams daughter from hell review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Interscope Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/gracie-abrams-daughter-from-hell-review-3957468&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Gracie-Abrams-Credit-Mitch-Ryan.jpg&#8221;] Gracie Abrams. Credit: Mitch Ryan ReviewsAlbum Reviews Gracie Abrams \u2013 \u2018Daughter From Hell\u2019 review: a dramatic reckoning with her younger self More plodding than enlightened, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter\u2019s contemplative third album shows she still has more growing to do 3 By Rhian Daly 17th July 2026 To exist in a Gracie Abrams [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2048656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2048656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2048656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2048656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2048656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}