Rejection has long fuelled Conan Gray’s music, and with his fourth studio album Wishbone, he turns those wounds into narratives of angst and contemplation. The 12-track record brings him back to the diaristic songwriting that first set him apart, mixing heartache with moments of tender reflection.
Gray’s rise began in the early 2010s on YouTube, where his intimate songs quickly earned a loyal audience. His reputation as a storyteller made him one of Gen Z pop’s most distinct voices. That voice grew under the guidance of producer Dan Nigro, with whom he worked on his first two albums. By contrast, his 2024 release Found Heaven leaned on Max Martin’s polished 80s-inspired production, spotlighting mood and atmosphere over narrative depth. With Nigro returning as executive producer, Wishbone feels like a reunion not just of collaborators, but of sensibilities.
Throughout Wishbone, Gray uses recurring figures and images to build a world where heartbreaks linger and identities are questioned. The opening track Romeo starts with a trumpet call before diving into a destabilising tale of fractured love. “I took the blade into my ribs,” he sings, channelling Shakespeare’s tragedy but reimagining it through the pitfalls of modern romance — ego, manipulation and miscommunication. The bridge distorts his voice into something almost robotic, a sonic representation of emotional alienation. Midway, his cracked scream — “Guess I was just your experiment!” — becomes one of the record’s rawest moments.
Romeo reappears in My World, driven by a crisp drum beat that contrasts its vulnerable core. Connell shifts gears with strings and electric guitar, a quieter exploration of the pain we sometimes invite upon ourselves. “You remind me of how good it feels to hurt,” Gray admits, replacing the urgency of Romeo with a tone that’s more confessional than confrontational.
If the album’s characters provide structure, it is Gray’s inward gaze that provides weight. In Nauseous, an acoustic opening of guitar and piano gives way to layered vocals, charting his fear of love and the lasting impact of childhood trauma. The bittersweet Caramel follows, an electric-guitar-driven track where memories of a failed relationship refuse to fade.
The most poignant moment arrives in Class Clown. Reflecting on a label first given to him in school, Gray reveals how those insecurities persist even in adulthood. “Everything comes back around, I still feel like the class clown,” he lilts, bridging past and present in a way that feels universal.
While Found Heaven showcased Gray’s versatility as a pop performer, Wishbone marks a return to his strength as a storyteller. The record straddles heartbreak anthems and introspective ballads, proving that he can still turn personal vulnerability into songs that resonate broadly.
With Nigro’s production, Wishbone feels less like reinvention and more like realignment — a grounding of Gray’s artistry in the kind of emotional detail that first made his music meaningful to listeners. For all its angst and ache, the album ultimately frames heartbreak as not just an ending, but a path towards clarity.
As Gray wrestles with labels, memories and the ghosts of love, he confirms his place not only as a voice of Gen Z pop but as an artist willing to bare contradictions and vulnerabilities without apology.
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