Twenty Somethings On the debut full-length record from gracie, called Miss Misfortunately, she weaves a slick narrative between songs heavily influenced by artists like Paramore and Olivia Rodrigo, but with a twist of ingenuity that is unmistakably her blueprint. “I’m not making music because I want to be successful; I’m making music because I have to,” gracie affirms. “I need to tell an authentic story. Sonically, it’s a collection of everything that’s influenced me. I’m ready to express so many thoughts I hadn’t been given permission to express before. The record is about being human, laughing at yourself, telling scary stories, and holding nothing back. It’s who I am as an artist.” Miss Misfortunately might not be the record you’d expect a label like Tooth & Nail Records to put out, but the songs found here are undeniably catchy, dripping with purpose, and gracie proves that her topical sound is poised for the next big breakout moment in the music scene.
On the album opener of “Twenty Somethings”, gracie laments on today’s dating scene as she croons, “I left you with a map / To find your way back to me / But I guess you got off track / After all the effort I put in.” As the song picks up steam, gracie effortlessly goes into her higher vocal register on a floaty chorus that feels like she’s just beginning to lift off. “Sucker” has a nice, pick-me-up bounce to it early on and by the time the chorus kicks in, it’s apparent that gracie is influenced by heavier pop-punk bands like State Champs. The heavy guitar riffing meshes well with gracie’s sugary sweet vocal performance that continues to evolve in the emotive vocal sections. “Not Your Mother” opens with a spoken word intro regarding her experience with dating someone who clearly needs to act his age, while the song adds in a cool sneer in the hook that is reminiscent of artists like PVRIS.
On mid-tempo tracks like “You Can’t Keep A Secret” gracie continues to explore the depths of her sound, all while adding in some nice vocal cadence changes to keep the listener engaged. “Gunpowder” begins with a slew of words ending with rhymes to the title, and as the song accelerates to the finish line, gracie shows off her impressive vocal chops over some vibrant electric guitars. Her vocal performance is quite impressive, and songs like this show why Tooth & Nail was validated to take a chance on signing this artist whose trajectory is on the right path. The title track comes right in the middle section of the LP, and it begins with bellowing over some down-tuned guitars and a somber feeling before gracie tells a narrative of why she feels underappreciated in a relationship and eventually let down completely. It’s powerful songwriting, and she does this music well.
”Amputate” recalls the early days of school, all fitted with background noise like a playground bell and barely audible chatter of students in the hallways, as she tells a heart-wrenching tale of love that has come and gone. “Vendetta” accomplishes gracie’s goal of creating authentic music as she creates a landscape of her musical influences put on full display, all while being consistent with her message about fighting for being treated right in a relationship. Other songs in the latter stages of Miss Misfortunately, like “Best Weird Thing”, continue to explore her strengths as a singer and artist, and gracie hones in on these elements to make for an enjoyable debut album experience.
The closing duo of the vulnerable “Evergreen” paired with the dreamy “Hot Air Balloon” feature a bit of a throwback element to her ever-evolving sound, similar to artists like Lyn Lapid, and gracie has made a worthy statement of her own creation. Debut albums come brimming with endless possibilities, and gracie explores the type of music she wants to create here in a crowd-pleasing template of songs that directly highlight this artist’s star quality. With such unlimited potential, gracie is an artist to watch for the foreseeable future.