A brand-new album release from Grace Corbett brings out a beautiful and particular brand of honesty as she gives pieces of herself with each song strewn about the record and with that you have an abundance of character that you end up latching on to right from the start and all the way through to the end.
The ilyf album feels like it's chapters in the artist's life and this is the kind of album that you absolutely must listen to from beginning to end as a whole otherwise not only are you missing the full story but you're also not going to get the entire spectrum of what this album has to offer by only listening to one or two songs alone.
Each track on this record has a little bit of something different to offer and with that you have different sides of Grace as a person and as an artist so listening to the whole album gives you such a greater in depth feel for her personality but what really grabs your attention is the way that she articulates her thoughts and just puts them right out there into words the music for the world to hear.
Records like this take a certain level of bravery in my opinion and the way she wears her heart on her sleeves and such a descriptive and personal manner really is outstanding and lets her shine as an artist because she's releasing music with fewer boundaries than the norm and I think that's really important when it comes to any kind of music.
A lot of these songs are almost like ballads in a way, but you're captivated by what she's singing and how she's performing them as well because even the performance vocally gives a one-on-one type of approach so that everything comes through with an authentic undertone.
These songs have an indie pop coating to them and that aesthetic sticks throughout the record but musically, you have this fluctuation of different kinds of instrumentation from acoustic guitar to piano and more, and songwriting styles as well.
This was an incredibly strong record because the performances feel genuine and have the energy of sitting down and watching her play them live in a way.
There's a very particular way that these songs make you feel like you're there in the room with her as she's performing them, and this is something that I've missed in music for quite some time so to have it now was quite refreshing.
You can tell each of these songs came from someplace real and her life experience has allowed her to find a way to express those inner thoughts, sometimes struggles, or emotions and this is really important because not only does it allow for great art of any kind, but it lets everything have this sort of youthful cry out so the songs come through completely relatable but when you listen to them you also feel like they could have been cathartic for Grace to actually write and release, and I bet they were.
Listening to this record is like a little bit of an escape so when you hear it, you're pulled away from the things that you're surrounded by, and you're put into someone else's mind and life for a small chunk of time and when the album is over you have to reacclimate back to your reality again.
This is exactly what I mean by an escape, and she pulls it off perfectly throughout this vast undertone, charismatic, and severely honest and beautifully woven release.
Her performances are real and somewhat graceful and in a certain way it feels almost like when she's recording in her little bubble alone, she's in her zone or her happy place where she's free to speak her mind or sing her mind really.
These are the elements that make a record real and I'm so happy that she released a full album of these kinds of songs because not only do you feel connected to her as an artist but some of these songs actually cause memories of your own to pop into your head.
This was an absolutely gorgeous release with no walls built around it and I can't wait for whatever she has coming next.