Conan Gray is a singer-songwriter who started out his career posting videos on YouTube when he was in his early teens. He is now known for his gut-wrenching lyrics and unique voice. His song “Heather” went viral and is now what he is most known for. He released his debut EP titled Sunset Season in 2018. Since then he has put out three albums, Kid Krow, Superache and, most recently, Found Heaven. 

Found Heaven was released on April 5, 2024. Gray’s albums have always had a slight influence from ’80s music but this is most evident on Found Heaven. This album is drastically different from his past music so it came as a big shock for fans when the album’s first single “Never Ending Song ” was released. “It genuinely blew my mind how creative he is” says Sabiha Sufian, a long-time Conan Gray fan. 

With trends from the ’80s making a comeback, this album came out at the perfect time. Nostalgia is huge in society today. Everyone is constantly reminiscing about older times and trends, even if they weren’t born back then. ’80s music has been influencing pop for quite a while, but Conan Gray’s Found Heaven takes this to another level. It has an ’80s pop sound that transports the listener to feel as though they are a teenager riding their bike in the ’80s. 

Many of the songs on this album fit perfectly with the album’s theme and energy, but there are a few that stood out among the others.  

Track 1: “Found Heaven” 

The title track of the album was the perfect opener. It highlights the ’80s synth style of the album and the tragic lyricism that Conan Gray’s fans know him for. The song feels as though Gray is singing directly to each listener, piercing a hole in their heart. The opening lyrics “ No God above us / can we repent this sin? / No soul is innocent / everybody wants to love” display a major theme of the album, love and its effect on other relationships, whether it is religion or family. The lyric connects this by using a common theme written in the bible. Gray alludes to family struggles of acceptance and religious trauma. Found Heaven was the perfect introduction for the listener to understand Conan’s lyricism, story and new musical style.

Track 3: “Fainted Love” 

This song feels the most familiar to Conan Gray’s typical style from his past music melody-wise wise but the instrumental still has same the ’80s synth-pop feel as the rest of the songs. Gray displays his effortless vocals reaching to his lower voice but also hitting high notes beautifully. With its very catchy chorus, this song is bound to be stuck in your head for days. 

Track 5: “Alley Rose”

“Alley Rose” was the final single before the album’s release. It is the most emotionally vulnerable and lyrically complex song on the album. Conan Gray is known for his ability to write songs that can tear listeners’ souls into two, and this song is not an exception to this trend. The song has a very operatic rock style that is almost reminiscent of the legendary band Queen. The lyrics are very descriptive of emotions and actions causing it to be breathtaking. The most memorable part of the song is its powerful bridge: “But I swore hands were made for fighting / I swore eyes were made to cry /But you’re the first person I’ve seen who’s proven that might be a lie.” “Alley Rose” is the perfect song for a good cry. 

Track 8 : “Bourgeoisieses”

“‘Bourgeoisieses’ is one of the more unconventional songs on this album. With its more spoken-toned melody and instrumental, it is a major standout. “ It’s such a unique beat compared to his other songs. It’s a song you fall in love with right away” says Christina Condilidis, RH King student and major Conan Gray fan speaking about her favourite track. To give some background, the word bourgeoisie refers to a class of business owners and merchants from the late Middle Ages, somewhere in between being peasant and aristocrat. This is now known as being middle class. The song is told by a narrator who is of lower class, talking about how they are looked down upon. This is because of social classism is in the United States, where being wealthy is synonymous with being better than others. The narrator envies the bourgeoisie and longs for a night to be one of them. The word bourgeoisies (correctly spelt as Bourgeois) was also purposefully misspelt to display the stereotype of the lower class being uneducated and struggling with literacy. The song lyrically and musically is very unique and can bring up discussion of capitalism and classism all over the world, as well as discussion of wanting what you can’t have. 

Track 9 : “Forever With Me” 

“Forever with Me” is about knowing that even if you aren’t with someone anymore, you will never stop loving them. Gray touches on how that heartbreak will never leave and cannot be forgotten, no matter how terrible the relationship was. This song is a classic ballad style that is very piano-focused. It seems to have influences from Elton John and Queen. Conan Gray’s vocals on this song feel the most raw, almost as though he is performing it live. Every word he sings is filled with emotion, making this song incredibly moving. 

Conan Gray created a wonderful experience of an album combining many different aspects of ’80s music, while still remaining true to himself as an artist. The inspirations behind each song are obvious, but not to the extent of unoriginality, each song still has its own flair to it. This makes the album so interesting to listen to. Though it may be a bit of a throw-off at first, a few songs in (or maybe a few listens) the album just gets more and more enjoyable.