Conan Gray’s most recent album, “Found Heaven,” pays homage to the bright, chunky sound of the ‘80s with its bold instrumentation, electronic sound, and catchy lyrics. But much like his predecessors, Gray has used this album’s neon sound to tell a much deeper story. Listeners are taken on a ride as “Found Heaven” progresses, and Gray tells a story of deep infatuation, betrayal, and the cycle of a toxic relationship.
The first three songs on the album take inspiration from ‘80s artists like Madonna, Bonnie Tyler, and Prince, to name a few. The percussion and bass are in your face, contrasted by Gray’s smooth vocals as he delivers lyrics that detail a deepened sense of young love—a love that has made you give up everything else, for better or worse.
In the opening title track, Gray details being lost in love and how he can never escape it in “Never Ending Song.” To round off the album’s beginning, he decides that no matter how bad the relationship gets, Gray wants nothing more than this “Fainted Love.”
By “Lonely Dancers,” the fourth song on the album, the relationship begins to fall apart. The bright, shiny nature of the number hides the true notion of the song, with lyrics like: “Your lover left you / Broke up tonight / My lover’s busy / kissing other guys”; “We’re lonely dancers, baby / Dance with me so we don’t cry”; “Wait, stop / Forget that guy / He don’t know love / I hope he dies.”
Gray pulls the curtain further with more intimate tracks like “Alley Rose,” featuring heavy strings, piano, and electric guitar, much in the style of Elton John. Gray’s emotional delivery in this song gives the impression he’s begging his lover not to leave him. The two tracks following “Alley Rose” exacerbate the fall of rose-colored glasses; the artist realizes the damage his previous lover has done to him (“The Final Fight”) and maybe what Gray did in return (“Miss You”).
Spirits lift again in “Bourgeoisieses,” and we recognize the singer has no more time left to wallow about this lost relationship. Gray has bigger and better ambitions on his mind: a rich life with parties, glamour, but most importantly, noncommitment. The layered backing and accenting vocals give the impression of a roaring crowd that Gray is joining,painting a picture for the listener of this lavish culture he’s referring to.
“Forever With Me” is next, opening with a piano solo that would make REO Speedwagon proud. The song leans more on the acoustic side, an aside following Gray as he realizes his former lover will forever be with him, and he says that despite the “bloodshed somehow bittersweet / I’m even smilin’ now as I sing.”
We return to the party in “Eye Of The Night,” which puts the darker ‘80s sound on display, using techno to compliment feelings of paranoia and the unease of being watched.
It’s followed by the much lighter, repetitive “Boys & Girls,” which shows the rotating, noncommittal lifestyle Gray aspires toward, but it’s not as satisfying in the looming shadow of his previous love, no matter how bad it used to feel.
The final tracks, “Killing Me” and “Winner,” rely on the instrumentation to pull back a bit, leaving Gray front and center as he finishes telling this story. Tense rhythms and heavy bass suck the listener into the cyclical nature of Gray’s toxic love story; the singer goes back to his previous lover. Gray is not the winner here—his lover is.
